Guardian Night Fury
by Rumbling Night Cutter
Summary: Astrid the Orphan has been alone her entire life, until she is adopted by a man called Gobber and moved to the big city to live with her new dad and the mayor, who is in mourning for his son. When trouble starts looking for her, something starts stopping it. And she swears its a dragon.
1. Of Orphans and New Beasts

**HERE IT IS, GUARDIAN NIGHT FURY! Let's start it up, huh. **

**Sandman, hoping to see your review later with all your epic and helpful ideas on them. That's all I gotta say. **

**Lets get this party started in:**

**THE CREATURE'S MAD, AND ASTRID IS DEPRESSED.**

**_Unkown_**

I was in _pain_.

So much pain. Every atom of my body felt like it had been drenched in lethal acid, it burned through my nerves like thousands and thousands of needles.

I could hear the ripping of cloth, then _skin,_ as I writhed. My bones felt like they were shattering and my stomach twisted and churned.

I gritted my teeth, but if felt wrong. Different than I was used too. The teeth were in different places, more spread out along my gums to where I could feel each individual peice of ivory sticking out of my gumms.

I made a sound like an animal, and suddenly there was the whining of a machine, a man's voice yelling. Every nerve in my body screamed, begged for death.

I felt my back and the base of my spine open up, my ears felt like they were being pulled out of my head.

My skeleton cracked and popped as it altered, my legs becoming shorter, my head bigger, arms thicker, fingers stiffer, spine more protruded, a new bones, muscle and nerves forming behind me. The leather straps on my limbs snapped, and I started to thrash, whipping from side to side, brealing throgh some metal with my head. I began to bite at it, tearing apart the wires and gutting the machine.

I was snarling now, a deep gutteral noise in my chest

Without warning the lights above me brightened.

I could hear the man's vice clearly this time, loud and filled with panick.

"Turn it off, turn it off, TURN IT OFF!"

a wave of heat rushed over me, but it felt like a sheet passing over my skin, which was now stiff and lumpy. Dust and rubble tickled my nose. I sneezed once and just rested as the pain cooled to a low ache.

Then what filled me next was hotter, more burning and more intemse than that pain.

Pure, untilstilled, undiluted fury.

Whoever did this would die, slowly. I pushed myself off the ground and sniffed, my olfactory senses seemed to have increased tenfold.

The lights were out, but I could see more sharply and clearer than ever before.

I spotted the yelling man, and a low growling started deep in my throat.

He was the cause of the pain! All of it! He was going to suffer. He was thickly built and had a huge black beard. Next to him was a spindly old woman with stringy hair and almost no teeth.

I snarled at them and the old woman ran to the nearest door, sealing it behind her.

The man backed up a bit in fear. "Now, now," he said. "There's no need to do anything rash-"

I crouched low, then lealt forward, bounding off the wall and into him. I opened my new mouth and spread my new wings.

_Revenge time!_

A heat built up in my chest as my mind spiraled down to the depths of savagery.

I left the man when I was done, And sniffed around, and found a picture of a blond girl, very pretty.

She was next.

She would feel that pain!

I couldn't let that happen to anyone else!

I needed to protect her! I turned and ripped down the door with my teeth, my mind clearing and new purpose locked in.

I would be her guardian against that pain.

**_Astrid_**

_"So what if you can see,_

_the darkest side of me,_

_no one will ever tame this animal I have become!"_

The music blared in my ears from my phone as I looked out the window, the sea passing under the window, waves splashing the glass.

I was bored out of my mind. I'd been on the stupid boat to go to my new home for almost two days, with nothing to do but listen to my phone. In my head, I reviewed the information I would give my new dad. He didn't know me or anything about me, as he and I were matched up in a personality test as the only adopting man who could deal with me,

My name is Astrid Hofferson. I am fourteen years old. And I have been alone my entire life.

When I was born, my mom died in childbirth, and an hour later, my dad was in a car accident. He died before I could know him. Literally, he never made it to the hospital. It's a bit depressing to know neither of your parents ever even got to see you.

But I'm not one to moan on it. I've had the past fourteen years to get over it! But anyway, I was moved around a lot till this point, as I am a bit of a problem child.

Hey, if they annoy me, I punch them in the face. Why not?

I was cut off from these thoughts as the horn suddenly sounded.

We had arrived. I shut the music off and dashed to the deck, stuffing the phone, a parting gift from my previous family, in the pocket of my jeans.

This was Berk, the island-metropolis. So big is spanned the entire island, from shore to shore.

I stepped off the docks and stretched, glad to be off the boat. Folding my hands behind my head I yawned, looking for my new "Dad," Gobber. I met the man on a video chat, and he was nice enough.

I saw him among the crowd. He was a hard man to miss, being a big bigger and wider than the other people in the crowd. He was missing his right leg and left arm, both lost in a misadventure in the jungles of brazil. A long, braided blond mustache hung from above his lips and was wearing a chocolate brown suit.

"Astrid!" He yelled and waved his prosthetic arm to attract my attention. He hobbled over to me. "So," he said, an irish accent thick in his voice. "Your the girl who I adopted eh? Ye looked tallah over Skype."

I resisted the urge to punch him.

"Well, it's nice to meet yah in person!" He said, holding his genuine hand out.

I shook it, and he grinned at me toothily. I noticed the shiny steel tooth in his lower jaw that protruded a little.

I nodded, not really answering. Chances were I wouldn't be staying long. With my track record, I would be her a couple of months, most likely. A year at best.

I followed the large man into a limo. "Home please, Hoark." he said and leaned against the leather seating and I sat beside him. I long since stopped feeling awkward around new parents, but I couldn't think of any words to say.

Apparently Gobber would think of them for me.

"So whatcha into lass?"

I looked at him. "Well, I like sports, music. Ive run track and been on the girl's wrestling team in most of my schools."

He chuckled, rubbing his chin with his prosthetic. "Well, yer certainly a lot different than the lad I used to know."

He hadn't told me about any boys. I would have liked to know about a temporary brother.

"Who?"

A change came over Gobber. He slumped in his seat, and felt his prosthetic With his hand, and tapped his prosthetic leg against the ground. He had a very somber expression on his face, and grief was evident in his voice when he spoke.

"Me godson, Hiccup," he said, and I did my best not to snicker at the name. "It's not his real name. It was actually Harrison, but people aren't always nice when you're accident prone and get hiccups when you mess up," he rubbed his face. "He vanished a year ago. Said nothing, just left the house per the norm, depressed as heck, and brilliant mind working. Then, nothing. He just disappeared."

"Suicide," she asked tentatively, thinking about how Gobber said the boy had been depressed.

"Nope," Gobber answered.

"Kidnapped?"

He nodded. "We think he's dead, though. Last month, a severed leg was found in an alley. They did a DNA test, and," Gobber's voice broke with grief. "It was his."

I felt a little sick at that. "Was anything else ever found," I said past the lump in my throat.

"No, but his blood has been found all over town."

Things became silent after that. I looked at the newspaper between us.

"Notorious crime lord Alvin the Treacherous found burned, mutilated, and barely alive." she read, and picked it up.

"Last night, Alvin Visk, was found gruesomely injured as of mauled by a wild animal and set on fire. Alvin was the leader of the notorious Outcast Crime Ring, a group known worldwide for kidnapping, murder, terrorism, and theft, all charges against Alvin himself. There's no evidence on the cause of his injuries, but he is in intensive care and under heavy guard."

I glanced out the window and froze. On top of a building, something was standing there. It was tall and black, and shaped like an animal. Huge wings were folded at its sides, and a long tail stretched behind it, and it's flattish head had long ears, and flaps on the top and sides. its legs were short, but built with muscle and made for running. Everything about the thing screamed _deadly predator. _

And it's huge, luminous green eyes stared directly at me. I stared back, and it cocked its head.

"Astrid?" Gobber said, and I turned to him.

"Eh?"

"Whatcha looking at?"

I glanced back but the Whatever-It-Was had vanished.

"Oh, nothing. Just dazing a bit." I said casually, not wanting to sound crazy.

We arrived at the house. It was huge, made of wood, but shaped like a modern mansion, a decorative dragon head above the door.

"Wow," she gasped, and looked at it in awe. "This is the mayors house."

Gobber nodded. "Yup. He and I are sort of honorary brothers, so I live with him here."

I followed him inside. The entry hall was beautiful, a long ornate hall with a hearth pit in the middle, Norse carved pillar lining the room. I notced some glass encased spaces to the side, and my attention was immeaditly drawn to a rather large one filled with jungle trees and dirt, like a zoo exhibit. "What's this?"

"The Haddocks like to keep some very exotic pets. That one's-"

Suddenly a giant snake slithered out of nowhere and I screamed, jumping back a but. The thing was unlike any snake I'd ever seen. It was pitch black with splotches of gray, and a head like the creature I'd seen. The reptile was twenty feet long and rippling with serpentine muscle.

-Toothless. Hiccup's old pet." Gobber finished.

"Toothless!?" I gasped in shock, trying to calm my heart down. The stupid thing had sprung out of nowhere!

"I don't have the foggiest why he named him that, but it's the only thing he'll answer too. Used to have free rein of the house when Hiccup was here, but now," he rubbed his neck sadly.

"Annyway," he said. Beside him is Stoick's pet, Thornado," he nodded to a massive blue and white spotted Manta Ray swimming in the tank next to Toothless.

"Interesting pets." I said, and he made a noise of agreemen. "All I got is a lazy bulldog. I call him Grump. I would call for him, but it wouldn't do anything. He's probably asleep." He shrugged.

That night, I laid in another new bed, in another new room. I thought about the thing on the building, so I looked out the window again. There it was, but this time eyeing the streets, as if keeping watch.

But what was it watching for?


	2. The Fiery Unknown

**A lot of you have been asking if the Unknown is Hiccup. All in good time people. All in good time. But it is not Toothless, as is evedent as he is Hiccup's pet snake. Sorry about this, but Toothless's role is relevantly minor. Maybe a few one appearance every chapter in passing, sometimes not at all. **

**Now, onto the story. I really have no thank you's this chapter.**

**THE UNKNOWN IS WATCHING AND ASTRID IS INTIGRATING.**

_**The Unknown**_

I scanned my eyes over the street, looking over the city. The lights shone and the cars zoomed about.

This was my territory.

This was my domain.

This was my hunting grounds for criminals, no injustice shall escape my piercing glare, for I am not the hero this city need, but the one it deserve-OK, OK, wait. What is my brain saying here? What is this? What-what am I? Batman?

I looked at my wings. Big and bat-like.

Eh, maybe. Just a little.

But the thing that described this most of all... Was _boring! _

MEH! In movies, you see all the heroes standing dramatically over the edge of a building, standing completely still.

ARE ANY OF THEM ADHD!?

I flopped on the rim of the apartment building, not caring if my charge saw this break in dramaticness as I let out a frustrated puff of smoke from my nostrils.

Why couldn't I swipe an iPod, or a laptop, maybe a PS Vita. Something to end this boredom! AGGGHHHHHHH!

Why was I even guarding this girl? I should be flying over the sea, free as a bird. Or a dragon. Am I a dragon? I think I am. I probably am. Anyway, why am I helping her. Sure, she's the most beautiful person I've ever seen-

NO! BAD DRAGON! ER, MAN! THING, LIZARD, MUTANT, BLACK SALAMADER! WHATEVER I AM!

Any relationship I have now would end really badly.

Well, maybe not. A few weeks ago, I discovered I could change back. Somewhat. The wings and the tail refused to go, and er, I was rather, um, let's just say exposed.

I stole-LIBERATED some clothes, and somehow the issue never came up again. Not that I was complaining. They were just... There when I changed.

I banged my head on the concrete.

THIS. IS. SO. BORING!

I took a deep sniff, looking for the Scent of the enemy.

Nothing within sniff range. I grumbled. They'd be here. I was dodging them for months before I was dragged off. Before I couldn't run anymore. Literally.

One of my back legs twitched and I growled.

Now I remember why I was guarding her. So she wouldn't have to run, live in fear, or go through what I went through.

I sat there, thinking for a long time.

Then it happened. The thing to stop my bore dome fell out of the sky and hit me!

Apparently the thing to stop my boredom was gooey and came from a fat pigeon's rear.

I AM NOT A GARGOYLE YOU STUPID BIRD!

Well, a good boredom reliever: Target Practice!

I grinned in my dragonish way. Vengeance on the poultry!

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>Astrid<strong>_

I stretched as I got up and looked outside. The Unknown was nowhere to be seen, though there were a few burned feathers scattered around where it had sat.

I shook my head. I was going nuts.

The Unknown probably didn't exist. I was just stressed and imagining a dragon everywhere.

I pulled on my clothes-blue shirt, skirt, and combat boots- and stomped downstairs, where the Mayor was.

Mayor Stoick Haddock was a rather large man with a red beard that took up his whole chest. I'd seen pictures of him on magazine, seen him on TV. He was a man that oozed confidence, every ounce of him strong and in charge. He looked down on the rest of the world like a giant-which he was.

But right now he was a very different person. He sagged as if some great weight on his shoulders, rubbing his head. His beard was unkempt and shaggy, and he wore a green sweatshirt and dark green sweatpants.

I peeked over his shoulder, and saw what he was holding.

A blueprint. Of a plane. It was drawn on normal paper, and written very messily. But even in chicken scratch to shame all chicken scratch, the science was way above my head.

Signed at the bottom was "HHHIII."

I swallowed hard and he turned.

"Hello," he said, tiredly. "Just," he stuffed the blueprint in the pocket of his sweatshirt. "Just thinking of some things.

The enormous mayor rubbed his eyes, then held out his hand. The limb was so huge I was pretty sure that he could crush me like an egg with one hand, but I put my comparatively minuscule hand and shook it.

"So yer Astrid then? Gobber's new daughter?"

I nodded.

"Good, good. Wouldn't want some strange girl roaming about the place." He patted my shoulder, and I nearly buckled from the force of it.

I wonder how this Hiccup boy could stand growing up around such a large, imposing presence. And this was Stoick Haddock depressed and subdued, not his usual boisterous self, throwing his full weight into everything he did.

Gobber hobbled in. "Mornin', Astrid. Get ready." he said, plopping himself onto a chair with a plate of bacon and a cup of coffee.

"For what?" I cocked an eyebrow at him and placed a hand on my hip.

He chomped a fistful of bacon and regarded me. "School 'o course. It's Monday! Mandatory!" He slouched in his seat and took a swig of his drink, gulping noisily.

"Well your not in any rush," I remarked, and he glared at me.

"I aint the one heading there!"

"Gobber, your the principal," Stoick reminded him, and the man's eyes bulged as he choked on his bacon.

"Oh, yeh!" He coughed and grabbed me by the arm, me hauling me out the door.

I yelped as he literally tossed me and a bad of school supplied into the backseat with some bacon still stuck in his mustache.

"GOBBER!" I yelled indignantly, and scowled as he shuffled in next to me.

"No time lass! Drive he moron! We're gonna be late!" He yelled at Hoark, who pounded the gas pedal and tore out of Mayor Haddock's driveway, leaving burn marks in the pavement.

* * *

><p>"Ugh!" I plopped down in the school cafeteria, a curtain of blond hair falling in front of my face.<p>

Hoark is a maniac and should have his license revoked. The idiot drives like a drunk Viking riding a yak! My poor tailbone is bruised from how many bumps we hit and leaps we took.

I laid there for a while, face pressed into the wood, bag beside me.

"Hello."

I glanced up through the yellow curtain in front of me. Across from me was a large bow with a tiny birds nest of blond hair. He was fat, really really fat, almost perfectly cylindrical, with tree trunk arms and itty bitty sausage fingers. He was giving me a friendly smile, revealing heavily messed up teeth.

"My name's Fishlegs," he said, and held out a chubby hand.

"Eh?" I grunted, not lifting my face from the table.

"Oh!" He said, realizing his mistake. "Oh! Sorry! I'm just used to being called Fishlegs. The names Fredrik. But everyone calls me Fishlegs."

He pushed his meaty hand closer and I limply put my hand him his and shook. Why did everyone here outsize me?

Meh.

I got up and blinked,stretching and yawning. It was way to early for me...

Suddenly a thick arm was slung over my shoulders. "Hey baby," a deep voice purred in my ear. "You must be new here, so-"

I swung my fist into the speaker's throat, cutting the pick up line off.

"Snotlout," Fishlegs said angrily. "What are you doing here?"

"Just-" he wheezed. "Just saying hi to the new girl!" He clutched his throat and gulped down oxygen. I smirked at him, that ought to keep him from hitting on me!

Once he got enough air back, he turned to me. "Don't listen to the nerd, my name's Scott Jorgenson." He held out his hand, but this time, instead of shaking, Inkicked him in the knee.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" he hopped on one leg, clutching the injured limb. I was tempted to kick the other one, but took mercy on him and looked back to Fishlegs. "School playboy?" I jerked a thumb at him.

"Uh huh," he answered.

"You?"

"Biggest, in both senses of the word, nerd in the school. Hiccup used to be the one with the biggest brain, but then he..." He trailed off, suddenly very interested in the floor tile and twiddling his stubby thumbs.

"Ok," I said understandingly, and nodded. He sighed in relief about not having to explain himself, as this "Hiccup," boy was obviously a sensitive subject. "So, who's your first period."

"World History, with Mr. Duke Weasletown."

"I think it's pronounced Wesleton," Fishlegs said, and I smiled. At least I could still make friends, I thought to myself.

I proceeded through the day fairly normally not a thought of the Unknown passing through my brain.

That is, until science, when I was put between these crazy twins called Rae and Tim, or Ruffnut and tuffnut as they called themselves.

I tried to pay attention. I really did. But anything that didn't involve _my movement _quickly lost my interest.

I tapped my pencil against the desk, slowly doodling a picture of an owl. I love owls. They're so wise looking, and they fly almost silently.

I loved them ever since I was a little kid. One day when I was six, a barn owl had flown down and stared at me for a long time, twitching its head from side to side, and hooting at me. I had been captivated by its huge eyes, the way it disappeared like a ghost.

What was in front of me on the paper was a great horned owl. I was just finishing the little tufts on his head when I heard someone whispering behind me.

"Ok, ok, ok," a gravely female voice whispered. "I'll just unscrew the cap, you rub those things together."

I rolled my eyes and tried to finish what I was doing, before I heard a little hiss escape from behind me.

Twisting in my seat, I looked behind me, and my gut froze in horror. Ruffnut had an insane grin on her face as she twisted the top off a shiny metal can, green gas leaking out.

Tuff's face mirrored hers as he held a flint and steel and held it up to the gas.

I leapt out of my seat, scattering supplies everywhere. "NO DON'T!"

BOOM! The explosions rocked the room, and Ruff and Tuff were thrown backwards. By some miracle, (or lack of) the twins survived and dashed out of the room, followed by the rest of the class. I tried to get up, but my foot was stuck under a fallen pice of wood.

I almost got caught in another explosion, and the building started to catch fire. I made a mad dash for the exit, but the wood above the door gave out and blocked my path.

I ran to the window, before realizing I was three stories up. It bit back a slew of curses and looked around me.

Stupid, stupid, stipules twins! Stupid Gobber for making me go to this stinking school!

I scowled and took a deep breath, preparing to try to slip between the collapsed wood, when I heard a noise. The sound of buildup. A shriek, like the air itself was screaming in pain.

And it was getting closer. I looked to the window where it was coming from.

The Unkown.

A blue explosion lit up the wall, and it burst apart, giving my first look at _him. _

The Unknown stood in front of me.

Up front and personal, he looked more impressive.

A bit bigger than a horse he stared at me with round acidic green eyes, narrow pupils watching me seriously.

His wings were folded tightly into his sides, and his tail stretched put behind him, decorated with fins. Along his back were triangular spines, one slightly bent.

His ear flaps pinned back sharply, almost looking like horns. He had shot legs, but the rippled with muscle.

Flames licked his sides And he watched me, only five feet away. I could hear his heavy animalistic breaths puff in and out over the crackle of the fire.

"Wh-what-" I stammered, reaching out to touch him, but he twisted his head towards the door. His moth opened, and a bolt of blue stuff came out and exploded against the doorway, leaving a wide hole for me to escape.

I gaped at him, but he gave me a "Go, go," gesture with his head.

I slowly turned to walk out the door, and the last I saw of the Unknown was him on the ruined hole where the window was, spreading his wings, before a wave of fire came in between us.

* * *

><p>The school had been saved, and the Twins severely punished,mouth I didn't think about any if that.<p>

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw those luminous green ones staring right at me, fire at his side, and looking like the night itself had spit him out in a fit of fury.

He was the Night Fury.

My Guardian Angel.

My Guardian Night Fury.


	3. The Unknown Talks

**I am in a writing frenzy right now! Time Fury chapter 2 will be done by Monday! The gang will be updated! Pet Day and Rebuilding Your life Chapters on the way, and Not One of Us is in development! **

**WARNING!**

**This chapter contains violence, indigestion, itty bitty dragons, and high levels of badass-ness. If you can't handle this, read anyway with a fair warning. Just be sure to leave a review. **

**Thank yours:**

**supersandman8**

**PersnicKty2018**

**Check em out!**

**Let's 'a go!**

**THE UNKOWN FEELS CHATTY. **

**_Astrid_**

The Twins had gotten a suspension. Somehow that was it.

I slouched against Toothless's tank, the black snake watching he rub a small burn on my arm from the fire. He hissed in sympathy, and I looked at him. The serpent looked intelligent to be sure. He had no problem with his tank, but his eyes...

They lacked the glazed, unseeing and unfeeling quality that most snakes had. They didn't just stare. They expressed, eyes rapidly dilating and slitting in a way that showed sympathy.

I looked at Thornado's tank, the enormous manta ray gliding slowly through the water, disappearing out of the viewing area, but not before studying me with the same eyes, knowing and intelligent.

Stoick had told me their stories. Toothless was an exotic animal handled by smugglers. One of Hiccups inventions, a small experimental remote controlled toy dragon, had busted their car when they ran over it. The thing had exploded, sending the van careening out of control.

The big black serpent had lost part of his tail in the accident, and would not let anyone touch him.

But Hiccup had gone right in, snake food in hand, and nerves of jelly. But by the end of the day he and the wounded reptile could trust each other in the same room, much to Stoick's amazement.

Later on the way, Hiccup, who worked with Gobber as an assistant in metallurgy class, has made a replacement for the missing length of his scaly pet's tail. When she asked why it was red, Gobber had just shrugged and said, "He was odd like that."

A year later he had talked Stoick into getting a pet. They'd intervied snakes, dogs, cats, birds, none of them striking the man's fancy.

Then they had visited the aquarium. They were taking a break from pet hunting, when they came to a tank of unrivaled size. Inside was the manta that would become Thornado, attacking the feeders. He was protecting a smaller manta, and had perceived the feeders as a threat.

Stoick had instantly felt a connection with the ray, buying him and his buddy from the aquarium. The smaller manta ray, called Newtsbreath, swam behind Thornado as he departed.

Unfortunatly, Stoick had not stopped there. There was an enclosure out back where Stoick kept a oddly colored green rhinoceros called Skullcrusher, purchased before Hiccup could talk him out of it.

I had face palmed at that. I could quite easily see Stoick as a jovial man, grinning through his beard and being just as ridiculous as his son was reported to have been. But he was broken right now.

I wondered why Hiccup had been depressed. He had quite a life here, head designer of one of the biggest machine companies in existence, pet giant snake, a very entertaining man living with you.

What could rich boy have been so depressed about?

I got up, walking towards the stairs. Toothless hissed behind me and retreated into the foliage of his cage. I needed some serious thinking time after What had happened. The Unkown was clearly guarding me. A part of me was mad about that, but there was the fact he had saved my life. And was clearly qualified to protect people. He looked like he could take on several bears and come out on top.

The way he was looking at me... He was deadly serious in that stare. He was the definition of scary in that fire. A beast that made the shadow his home, the fire his ally. He could follow you anywhere, and kill in an instant. The blue fire that came out of his mouth looked as potent as some air plane missiles.

But his eyes were like Toothless's. Not unthinking or unfeeling. He looked like someone who had lost his chance, and was deciding I would keep mine. I didn't know what to think of that,

There was a robotic whirr and a cold metal hand landed on my arm. I rounded to see Gobber, his face set in a scowl.

"Astrid," he said seriously. "What happened today. Speedifist and Clueless said that they saw the door collapse before you could get out, and there was a huge hole in the wall. How did that happen?"

The blood drained out of me.

I couldn't tell him about the Unknown, he would think I was mad. Then it would be bye-bye Berk and hello foster system again for me.

And Fishlegs seemed kinda nice, a good friend. I would never want to go near Snotlout, though and next time I saw Ruff and Tuff, I would rip their arms off and breath them to pulps.

But he seemed like a good guy to have as a friend. I didn't want to leave.

"Uhhhhhh" I said, heart rate rising. "I-" being an excellent liar, I quickly thought up something believable. Swallowing I restarted my sentence.

"I-I blew the wall down. With the gas the twins used. The can was on the ground and. I-I sprayed it at the wall."

_Please, please please buy it!_

I held my breath as Gobber mulled it over, and slowly his prosthetic hand uncurled from me. "Smart lass." he said, and began nodding approvingly, grinning, and underlaying chuckle. "Knew you were clever. Just like Hiccup. Ye've got the same, the same glint in ye eye."

That took me a bit by surprise. "Glint?"

"There was always something going on in the boy's skull. His face was just the "Keep to until finished," sign. You got something going on in there." He poked me in the forehead. "Ah, I won't press he. Ye've had a long enough day. Get some rest, look after that burn. Ill see ye in the morning." The old man turned one his genuine heel and hobbled away.

_Yes, it worked!_

Holding back a victory laugh, I scrambled up the stairs, collapsing on the bed.

The Unkown.

Planning the Twins' gruesome demise

Beating Snotlout to a pulp if he tries to hit on me.

I had a lot on my mind as I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>The Unknown <span>_**

I landed in my little alleyway.

"Oi!" I called out.

Or rather, growled out. When I was, when. I was transformed, I sort of got this... This dragonese language downloaded into my now rather flat skull.

Anyway, at the sound of my voice, three shaped darted out.

One was about the size of a beagle, and shaped a bit like a newt. He was mostly bright green, with brown stripes on his back, and brown wings, and a tiny arrow ripped tail. His yellow eyes bulged out of his head, and he looked at me with wide eyes.

Another one darted out. Her mouth is almost as big as her body, and had no discernible neck. She had short, stubby legs and a wingspan equivalent to over twice her body length. Her tail is long, thin, and very spiky. She stared at me, wide eyed.

She was about half the size of the other two. She had glowing orange scales, and her footsteps left little curls of steam on the ground. She had five pairs of legs for a total of ten legs, and fierce eyes that glow in the dark.

They were my little friends. We were all put under different project names. I was project "Night Fury." The green was "Project Terrible Terror," the grey one was project "Smothering Smokebreath," and the little orange one was "Project Fireworm." I had taken them with me after I mauled the shouts man. They acted like, like nine year olds most of the time.

Thier names were Sharpshot, Veil, and Nightmare. They called me Toothless, because I can retract my teeth. For some reason, I had protested. I was certain the name was already taken. I can't remember by whom, though. But they insisted, and I had no choice but to accept.

I know everything about the world, except where I used to fit in it. I know how to build things, I know about the social life of all of Berk, I know the names of countries, and so do they. We just can't remember who we were.

"Hey, guys!" I bend down onto my belly and folded my wings. Sharpshot crawled onto my head and Veil landed on my arm. Nightmare padded across my left wing.

"Did you find anything new!?" Veil asked excitedly, puffing a bit of smoke in my face.

"Nope, just more concrete and smog." I coughed, and Sharpshot jumped around my head. "How's your "Mission." The Pretty Girl safe?"

I regretted telling Sharoshot about my mission. He seemed to have "tease for all its worth," hardwired into his personality. Ever since I told him I was playing guardian angel to a pretty girl, he'd never failed to tease me about it when we met back in the alleyway.

I tried to look at him, but my eyes don't work like that. "Her name is Astrid, and yes, she's fine. There was a fire at her school."

"Ohhhhhhhh" I could hear his smirk. "Did you come in, all "the dark hero" and save her? Did you go human and profess your undying love for her, kneel down and propose with the ring hanging off one of the bones of your tail flaps? Did you say, "Baby, be mine for-"

I head-butted the ground, smashing the little dragon in the process.

Sharpshot, very much like a roach, laid there all twisted and broken looking, before popping back to perfect health.

He gave me a leering grin and stretched leisurely. The little guy was soooo annoying. I was wondering if they mutated him first just to put him on the other side of a language barrier. Unfortunately they put me on his side too.

"Ow! Oh, Toothless! Oh, I'm sooo hurt!" He mocked, dancing on his little bitty legs, voice thick with sarcasm and smugness. Veil was chortling so hard smoke came out of her in large puffs, and Nightmare just looked passively from the top of my wing, blinking ever so often.

"Watch it Sharpie." I growled and cuffed him with a leg. He tumbled backwards, tail over head.

He sat up, a little rattled, then shook his head. "Ohhhhhh so that's how you wanna play it huh? Well, don't forget, I have FIRE!" He opened his mouth, flammable gas welling indie him.

Less than impressed, I shot a tiny bolt of non-concussive plasma at him, down the little guy's throat.

He ballooned into a green and brown bouncy ball, then flopped back down to normal size.

By now, Veil was laughing at the two of us so hard, she fell of my arm. Even Nightmare was giggling.

I sighed and laid my head down. "Guys, do you remember... Changing?"

That made everyone freeze.

"N-no." It was Sharpshot who spoke, dragging himself up.

I looked at Veil. She shook her head, and Nightmare made a tiny "Uh-Uh."

"I figured." I muttered sadly. So I was alone in that experience. They didn't remember what the pain felt like.

So they didn't understand why I wanted to protect her.

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>Astrid<strong>_

The next few days were boring. The Unknown made no further appearences, and, since school was suspended, I spent most of my time in the city, knocking about, Linkin Park blaring in my ear phones.

I sighed as I trudged past a Macdonalds, a few streets away from the mayors house. It was a week since the fire, and nothing.

I scanned the sky above, searching for a distinctive black shape. It was getting dark, with the sun slowly disappearing.

A better chance for the Unknown to appear. She supposed while the Unknown would be an excellent night hunter, he would stick out like a sore thumb, flying during the day. There would be no missing his inkiness against the pale blue sky.

Suddenly an arm grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into an alley.

I found myself slammed into the wall by a man in a soldier outfit. It was go plenty grey and bore no logos. A helmet was shoved low over his face. He was huge, almost as big as though not nearly as big as Stoick, and slowly, ten other men joined him in pointing guns at me.

I struggled, trying to get out.

Luckily, my arms are thing, and I slipped out of his arms.

"Hey, what are you-OOOOOHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

That last bit was from my foot going between his legs. The large man fell to his knees, voice three octaves higher than before. I flexed my leg. Hi must have been wearing armor, because that hurt!

I rubbed my foot, grimacing, and spun, but my arms were caught tightly by two more men.

"Not getting away that easily, girly!" The one I kicked got up, wincing. "Our heads will roll if you get away, so your coming with us!" He cocked his gun and pressed it into my hair.

I gritted my teeth, and went still. I was fearless, not stupid.

"Wait!" One of them shouted and we all whipped around. A soldier was pointing at a space in the black shadows.

"What is it Cole?" One of them moaned.

"I-I saw something! A-A monster," the man screamed.

"Oh, here we go," one muttered.

"Did you ring the beer again?"

"Don't be stupid, there p's no such thing as monsters."

I turned on a whim and saw a pair of acidic green, feline eyes glowing in the darkness behind them.

The Unknown released a low growl that echoed off the brick walls. They froze and turned as the eyes vanished. "Did anyone-did anyone else hear that?" One of them asked.

A single soldier pipe up, one with a golden cap, presumably the leader. "Come on, monsters in the dark. What are we, ten year olds on a camping trip?!"

He walked to the edge of the light and spread his hands, addressing them with his back to the darkness.

Suddenly a scaly black paw shot out and gripped his head with finger like claws. He began screaming, and I winced in sympathy as he was dragged back, screaming, into the darkness.

He kept screaming, until, after multiple thumps, he was silent.

The two holding me let go and cocked their guns, pointing them around as the Unknown's heavy breathing echoed through the alleyway.

There was a sudden snarl as his eyes appeared again, and he leapt into the light with a roar. He chomped onto one of the soldiers and dragged him out of sight.

He was yelling for help until there was the sound of shattering bricks, and the soldier was quiet. He was thrown back into view, bleeding. He gave a moan before collapsing, unconscious.

The mens' self control evaporated. They opened fire, and the Unknown roared, leaping over the bullets and landing on one of them. He opened his mouth and there was a _shink. _

He bit down on the soldiers midriff and then threw him.

The nine remaining kidnappers opened fire with full force. He pan like a panther and barreled into them, sending them tumbling like bowling pins and their guns going everywhere.

The Unknown smashed one under a paw and snarled with slightly red teeth. He cracked his tail, shattering the ribs of three people. They fell backwards with pained moans until he roared and sweat their legs out from under them. They hit the concrete with a crack, and were still, but breathing.

He turned around and charged the attackers still standing, raking one in the chest and kicking him aside with his left hind leg-for a moment I thought his face changed to grim satisfaction, but it resumed its old expression of animalistic fury.

He opened his wings and roared as one that was still armed unleashed a few rounds. He shot a blue blast at the man's feet and sent him flying, and hit the ground unconscious.

Two of the stupid ones decided to charge him with battlecry's. He opened his wings with a snap. The limbs designed for flight sent the idiots soaring away and into the walls.

The last of them just started.

The Unknown snarled, his triangular spines splitting into v shapes. A blue glow started in his nostrils, slowly followed by the spines on his forehead, then the ones on his back, the nubs on the sides of his tail, the part where his wing membrane bet his body, his entire back, all glowing a bright electric blue while his eyes blazed green, the snarl getting louder with each spine lighting up. He dig his claws into the ground.

The last soldier screamed in terror and ran off, tripping over his own feet.

Then, to my surprise, the Unknown shrugged, seemingly satisfied with the course of events. The blue glow died, and his spines merged back into one. He planted himself on his tail and nodded at the carnage, as if saying, _job well done. _

Then he turned, and looked into my eyes. My head began feeling... Fuzzy. Like a cloud was invading it. I fought to keep my eyelids open, but his eyes went slit pupiled, and the feeling got worse. Consciousness faded from me as I fell.

I didn't even make it to the ground.

* * *

><p>When I woke up, I groaned.<p>

I was in my bed, still in my clothes, on top of the covers. My still-packed clothes laid by the door,and moonlight flooded in through the giant round window.

I blinked groggily, and looked around.

Bare shelves and walls, luggage, open bathroom door, light still on, stranger standing in the round window, my drawing of a great grey owl-wait WHAT!

I whipped my head to the window. Sure enough there was, a boy standing in the window, forehead pressed into the glass. He had thick auburn locks, and was thin as a stick figure. He wore a huge black trench coat That fanned at his feet, making him look bigger. There was something poking out of his hair, and a thick bulge in his back, and the bottom of his coat shifted a bit.

I gapped at him, before getting angry. This was my room! Sure, I hadn't been here long, but still, how dare he!

"Who are you?!" I demanded. "What are you doing here?!"

He turned, and I saw under the coat he wore a brown vest, bright green shirt, and dark green trousers, with thick mountain boots.

He moved more into the light and I gasped. His ears-they were like the Unkown's ears. Long and black, and poked out of his hair. I glanced at his hand and saw it was covered in armored black scales.

He shrugged off his trench coat. As it fell, he revealed gigantic black wings and a long, finned, muscled tail.

_Just. Like. The. Unknown's. _

He smiled at me, and an ear flap twitched. He slung his coat over his elbow and held his arms out to his sides, as if saying, "well, what do you think?"

"To be honest," he said in an _extremely _nasal voice. "I don't know my name. Just call me Toothless."

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>The Deranged<strong>_

I blinked slowly as the light hit me for the first time in so long. I bolted as fast as I could, paying to attention to the fact I was in human form.

I bounded out, ignoring the men around me.

I dashed away, not noticing the raw skin behind my neck that had recently healed from surgery.

All I knew was this:

I was hungry. So, so hungry.

And for the first time in years, I could be sated. And once I was satisfied-

then I could find my brother.

My tail and wings lashed in happiness at the thought.

I was was going to see my little brother again.

Then we could go _kill _things together.

**Oh, PersnicKty, MORE CLIFFHANGERS! I know how much you like them, so I gave you TWO in ONE chapter! Ha!**

**Now that that shoutout is out of the way, thank you zoewinter1 for pointing out that embarrassing mistake I made right as I was finished typing this. Agghhhh. I'll try not to let it happen. **

**Have an awesome whatever-point-in-time-you-read-this. **


	4. The Talk and The Skrill (rewritten)

**I love my own cliffhangers. But now I'm scared I'll start a cliffhanger war with PersnicKety.**

**DERANGED VERSUS UNKNOWN**

**_ASTRID_**

"Just call me Toothless." He said, flexing his wings.

I looked at him as his eyes turned from reptilian to warm, soft human.

"T-That's... You can't have that name!" I stammered out. "That's one of the pets downstairs." She stared as left ear flap twitched in annoyance and he stamped his foot.

"I told Veil it was taken!" He said, completely loosing his air of power. Before he had the mysterious air of a god who'd lowered himself to man.

Now he just looked like a pouty fifteen year old. Which, if you subtract the dragon bits, he was.

"Can I keep using it though? It's the only one I got. My friends named me that, and I don't have a lot of other people to talk to." he folded his arms and tucked his wings closer to his back.

I nodded, relaxing now that at least his face was human. Then I noticed something.

He was... Shorter than me! Ha! I couldn't believe it! The creature I'd been in awe of, in wonder of, the thing that had single-handedly tear apart a squadron of armed men, was now a stick figure boy two inches _shorter than me!_

It was a tiny, insignificant two inches, but I guess with the stress of the past week, since the fire, and the sheer terror of Toothless's fight last night, some part of me just decided to take any excuse to laugh.

I began giggling uncontrollably. I'm not so tough as to deny the existence of my giggles, but I rarely do it. I tried to bite my lip to stop it, but they came out anyway, in little hiccups of laughter.

They turned into full blown chortles as he made _the most confused face _I have ever seen, mouth open, aghast, his right eyebrow trying to crawl its way to freedom. Combined with the sight of his ear flaps dropping, his wings going limp against the ground, and the dragony growl of _"Wha,"_That came out of him, it was just too funny.

"Y-your shorter!" I gasped, trying to use my hands to stop the laughter, failing miserably.

He then went through the most _hilarious_ change of faces as he gazed at me with half lidded "Really," eyes that quickly turned into indignation and a deep red blush as he has to tilt his head slightly to look at me. Then, trying to salvage his dignity, he drew his wings up to where they were twice his hight, tail held up pompously, he bit his lower lip, and straightened his arms at his sides.

Now I was collapsed back on my bed, clutching my sides, tears welling as I laughed. "Well, I... Shut up!" He growled, but his red face was too much, and I fell of the bed shrinking in mirth.

He growled and hoped on it after me in an animal pose of all fours, wings spread out and teeth changing from human to pointy, eyes very much dragon, and fingernaila growing into claws. It was almost intimidating.

"I'm warning you, I can go back to being, an, an enormous, attack BEAST! At, at any time I want. Just warning you!" He said, and crawled of the bed after me in his animal pose as I backed up. He was lashing his tail. Then, seemingly realizing how ridiculous it looked without the high ground advantage, stood back up.

My laugher had subdued to where it was just escaping between my fingers.

"Come on!" He said indignantly. "Don't laugh!"

I faded to giggles, then swallowed them too. "Ok, ok, I'll, try not to laugh, T-Tooth-" his name sent me back into a fit of hysterics. Man, I needed some stress relief.

Toothless buried his hands in his hair and hid his head in his wings. "This is humiliating."

I patted his wing and he nudged my hand away.

"Sorry." I finished, sitting in a chair across from him.

"Dang it. I was going for cool. I wanted to be cool." He shook his head and sat back on the bed. I smiled at him.

"Long week for me. I needed to laugh. I should thank you for that. And the fire. And the thugs." He just yawned. I noticed deep bags under his emerald eyes.

"Your taking this rather well," he commented.

"Taking what rather well."

Toothless spread his arms, hands pointed at himself. "Uh, the dude with wings, a tail and freaky ears being in your room, in the middle of the night, directly after watching a huge monster take out a gang of armed thugs?"

I crossed my arms and gave him a look. "I've had time to adjust to the, um, idea of your existence since I got here. I saw you watching me on a building." he raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

We sunk into silence for a while. Finally I couldn't take waiting anymore. I wanted to know.

"So, Toothless," I said, and he flicked an acknowledging ear at me. "What the heck are you?"

He laid there for a moment, then curled his wings around himself, tail flicking like a cat. He looked exhausted, and I realized his clothes were not designed to be baggy, but hung him off him like he was made of wire.

How long had it been since he'd eaten or slept?

There were also a few stitches in his hands that looked self treated. I was not a soft hearted person, but the look in his eyes was so _lost, _that I really couldn't not feel a twitch of sympathy. He bit his lip and unfurled himself from his wings, and pressed them tightly into his back. His eyes looked a bit bloodshot. He swung his coat back over his shoulders, got up, and resumed his place at the window.

"Really?" He eventually croaked. "What am I? Not _who _am I? Fair point, with, all this, but still, _really?_" He sounded so depressed. Wow...

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-" Toothless straightened, and his ears nestled snugly back into his hair. "Its fine. Just some stuff I've had going in over the past three months. Identity problems, you know what it's like."

Shoving a hand in his trench coat, he hopped off the windowsill and padded towards me. "Well, to answer your question, I think I'm a dragon. Don't know. I DO know, I started off human. The only thing clear is after I... became this, and then there's a few months of fuzzy memories, and then," he blew a raspberry to indicate nothing.

"Hm," I grunted. "And you've been, what, guarding me? Why?"

Toothless just glared at me. "Don't try and not make me sound like creepy stalker, thanks."

I shrugged. The dragon boy gave a huff that reminded me a lot of Stoick, and closed his eyes. "I just, they were," he growled and rubbed his temples, plated scales surfacing on his forehead, and hair receding a bit.

"Those men, the ones I attacked, they, they wanted to make you, like, well," he spread his wings and all four of his fins, the trench coat riding up behind him. "Like me."

A shock of fear went through me. Like him? Half monster? Sometimes full monster?

"L-Like you?" He nodded, folding the limbs back up under his coat. "Yup. Like me the wings, the tail though, they would be allot different probably," he said, making rolling gestures with his hands.

"But, in general, up. Though you would still be beautiful, don't worry about that. I'm pretty sure this hideous mess," he gestured to his face, "was like this before."

I don't know why, but I scoffed. "Oh, come on. Your face isn't _that _horrible."

This was rewarded by dropped ears and a "really" expression. He rolled his eyes then continued.

"So, they'll probably design your dragon form differently. I'm a sky fighter. Im made for dive bombing and guerrilla moves, mot sustained combat. I'm bulletproof to a degree, but not that much. You'll probably be designed as more of a warrior-"

I slapped him across the face. He spun a full circle, tail tangling his legs. He fell on his face with a loud "Ooomph!"

"Stop talking like that," I said, breathing a bit rapidly. My heart felt like it was going a million miles an hour, trying to make a break for it through my chest, and acid chrmed in my belly.

I didn't want to be like him! He's nice and all, but I don't want wings, or a tail! Toothless would never be able to rejoin society, no matter how much he acted human.

He untangled himself and got up. "Astrid, I'm just one dragon. Boy. Lizard. Thing."

The fact he didn't even know what he was made the acid in my stomach worse, but he continued. "I made a vow not to let anyone fell what it's like to be converted, but I don't know if I can. That's why I confronted you. I need you... Your... Y.." He seemed to be struggling with words, until he smacked himself. "YOUR HELP! I need your help in this. I can't protect you forever, so you have to be more aware."

He yawned again, but shook his head rapidly. "Watch... Watch out for... Um..."

I squinted at him. He was dead tired, I could see it. "How much sleep have you gotten?" I asked, suddenly. He shook his head to keep himself awake. "Um, I think I took a twenty minuet nap on monday."

I blinked. It was Saturday. "Toothless, you've got to sleep."

"No,no. I got to keep watch. They... Caught me... Asleep. They..." I pushed him down to the bed. "You got to sleep, or you'll be useless."

At "Useless," his eyes went slit pupiled. "Not...not..." He shook his head, but I pushed him back down. The fight must have drained his final reserves if strength, as he couldn't even fight back.

His body finally crashed from weariness, and he collapsed on the bed, sound asleep. When I looked back at him, I smirked.

I have to admit, it was kind if cute when he cuddled his own tail.

The knot in my stomach loosened a bit as he relaxed. He was very freckle-faced, with kind if a big nose, and a crooked teeth. His ears nearly disappeared into his hear as he slept and since his wings and tail were hidden under the coat, he looked... Normal.

Like the little nerd someone would see in the hall way, hurrying to class, tipping under the weight of his things.

Then I remembered his fight, his huge head chomping the soldier, breaking the thugs like toys, and that moment of extreme power. Him, snarling like an animal. Literally glowing with power.

He was a monster. An animal.

And I was going to be one too. Some vicious scaled beast with some humanity left, all claws and scales and fire.

Despite the fear gnawing at me, I needed to sleep too. For some reason, whatever Toothless had done to knock me out didn't gain me any energy. I was dead tired, though not nearly as beat as Toothless. I walked over to a couch in the room and curled up.

* * *

><p>That night I had bad dreams.<p>

A nightmare unlike any I'd had before.

Because it was the first one that was based off something that might actually happen.

I was in a dark room, whimpering as my skin turned to blue and yellow scales, and I grew a tail and giant wings. It hurt more than should have been possible. Mind numbing, voice tearing PAIN!

Blood flowed from where the limbs had emerged, flowing down the last bits of skin and staining the floor.

I saw Toothless look at me out of the darkness in his dragon form, acidic green eyes cold and animalistic, watching me silently. Like he had in the fire.

Tears stung my eyes as the rest of my skin turned to scales. My limbs thickened and my head altered.

Astrid Hofferson was no more. In her place was a scaly beast spitting fire, with jagged teeth and spikes.

It was the worst nightmare I'd had in a long time.

My soul was gone, replaced with that of an animal. I roared, and my Guardian Night Fury roared with me.

* * *

><p>"RAAAHHHHH!"<p>

I woke up with a start to see Hiccup wide awake, dragon eyes and scales starting to form. He was perched on my bed stand, claws digging into the wood and plasma in his mouth. His wings were spread out as if defending himself.

"Woawoawoawoa!" I yelled, grabbing him by the shoulders. He looked at me in the eyes, and slowly closed his wings.

"Sorry," he swallowed the plasma. "Really sorry. Freaked out. Sorry."

He got down. "I do feel better though." He smiled at me. "Thanks."

The previous night came back, the desperate urge to run and hide from whoever did this to Toothless welling inside me. And the urge to run from Toothless too.

I must have shown some sign of fear, because suddenly I felt something stroking my head. I looked up and found Toothless as the culprit, eyes worried.

"Are you... _Petting_ me?"

He nodded. "Yeah. You looked kinda stressed. There are nerve endings in the scalp. Getting petted or brushed basically forces you to relax."

I glared and he retracted the hand. "Just trying to help. Sorry."

Not good enough. I punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Did this dragon thing take away your common sense or something, you don't just start petting someone!" I started wailing on him. Somehow, while his dragon form could take bullets and high impact landings, the human one cant take my fists.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! OW!" He flinched from my blows. "I said sorry!"

He finally jumped away, flapping his wings to distance himself. "Come on! I was only trying to help! You looked stressed! I'm trying to help you!"

"Why!?" I screamed. Why did he want to help me? Why did he want to save me? We'd never met! I arrive here, and he's just there! Why?!

"I DON'T KNOW!" He shrieked and all his skin turned into scales. "I don't know. I don't know. I don't know!" the poor dragon boy was practically sobbing.

"I saw your picture, and I had an overwhelming urge to protect you. You were important to me. For some reason, you are important and I..."

His ears perked up. "...don't know. But... There's something..." He looked out the window, and sniffed, starting to walk towards the door. "Astrid, please, just don't go into bad neighborhoods, or in public alone!"

I gaped and scowled indignantly. "What?"

"It's just... There's something out there. I need to check it out. I don't know why, but you are high priority. But I _need _to investigate this. I'll be back later to talk! Actually talk, make plans, everything. I'm going to keep then from turning you. But, something, just doesn't..." he didn't finish as he opened the window and jumped out, turning intondragon from.

I ran to the window and watched him fly. I grit my teeth. Arrogant half lizard. I can take care of myself, thank you very much.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>THE DERANGED<span>_**

I stumbled through the crowd. A purple trench coat his my wings and tail, though not very well.

I was hungry.

They locked me away for so long, I was almost empty from my escape attempts.

I needed to find Hiccup. Then, together, we could kill the one's who did this. They would die, slowly.

Very very slowly.

I saw the videos of Hiccup mauling Alvin. His new form was worthy of worship from these... Pathetic humans.

They should kneel before us! I was named "Project Shrieking Kill."

Shrieking Kill... Shrieking Kill... OH, I got the perfect name for me!

I am the Skrill. Now and forever.

And Hiccup is the Night Fury. A beast so powerful that the air itself is terrified when he dives for the kill.

And there was going to be a third... Beautiful, deadly, with venom in her spines as painful and as lethal as any poison or plague. And she was already very important.

I needed to convert her too. Our trio would rule the world. Lightning, Poison, and Darkness, together in bodies far superior to any human.

But right now, I could only think about filling back up.

I split off from the crowd, making my way to the city docks.

I breathed in the salty air, walking past a rickety fishing boat called the "Hopeful Puffin." it was Harrison's first naval attempt if I remember.

I made my way to the edge and put a foot over the water, but a cop noticed my progress, and walked forward, hand on his taser. Idiot.

"Hey! You! Back away from the edge-"

I put my hand up. "Go back to your doughnuts, Officer. I'm just getting a bite."

I looked away, letting my tail slip out from under my coat. The cop gasped, and stumbled back a few feet.

"That's right officer. I'm from down there!" I pointed downward and grinned. Oh, this was so funny. "The devil says hi."

After wiggling my fingers in a wave, I put a foot above the water.

"Sir, I said," he swallowed, "I said back away from-" I grabbed him by the throat with my left hand.

"Quiet. No talking during dinner." I hissed, and threw the fat old cop away.

With a grin on my face, I took out the little device in my pocket

_"Come on, Dan," He said, guiding my hands to the controls. "It's easy! You just gotta manipulate the point at which the electricity is emitted and make sure there is a powerful enough attractor and conductor where you want the energy to go._

_I stared blankly at him, then shook my head and put my hand on his shoulder. "Your the tech wiz, bro. I'm just your assistant."_

_Harrison laughed. "Hey, your clever enough. Come on, you just, do-_

That, I thought, flicking the switch. The little invention was meant for attracting, amplifying and storing lightning. Harrison's own design, of course. I stole it after my escape. This would give me enough to last a year!

I threw off my coat and flew over the water, towards the storm. As. I entered the black clouds, there was a high pitched whining from the machine. Around me, the lightning intensified, becoming brighter and more powerful. My skin tingled, and the device in my hand whined louder.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning hit the device, and the surge of energy, meant to be transferred to an insulated battery, went into me. I laughed as it raced up my skin, sending little sparks into my vision.

It happened again, and again. The tingly feeling, like I had been dumped in ice water, got better with each strike.

I had nearly enough to go strong for six months, when a black blur tackled me. We fell down from the sky and onto one of Berk's sea stacks. We crashed straight through one with cutting force.

The stone mass crumbled behind us, and we tumbled on top of another one.

Who would dare attack me? How dare thy. I looked at the assailant, who had landed on the high ground.

It was Harrison, the Night Fury.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>The Unknown<span>_**

"HARRISON!" The man yelled, and smiled, folding his wings. He held his hands out, as if expecting a hug. Around us, the storm raged, lightning flashing in the sky, raindrops assaulting my scales and chilling me.

**"Should-Should I know you?"** I asked, hopping off the rock with a flap of my wings. I nearly kicked myself. He wouldn't-

His face fell. The man was taller than me (not a very new concept, thanks Astrid), and thickly built. He wore a purple shirt and brown pants, and a mass of chocolate brown fuzz on his head.

There was a purple tattoo of a three clawed slash over his left eyes, and his dark green eyes glinted with disappointment as he looked at me.

"You don't remember me?" He asked quietly. Wait, he can understand dragonese in human form? Interesting.

Electricity ran over his hands, and panic surged through me. **"No no no no no," I yelled, "Calm down. Maybe I remember you. Yeah,"** I dug into my memory. There was a bit of his face in there.

**"I've definitely seen your face. Now, whats your name, whats your name..."**

He looked a bit hopeful, as he said hesitantly. "It's... It's Dan. "

**"Dan?" **I questioned. No bells were rung.

"Yes. It's Dan." He said. "Wait, you used to nickname me Dagur!"

**"DAGUR!"** I yelled as the name rang in my head. Something was definitely there.** "Dagur, yes, yes, sorry, I have, um,"** I bonked myself on the head with a wing. **"A... a memory thing. Cant recall much. You knew me before?"**

"Yes," he whispered, and the air around him whined with electricity.

**"Woa, woa, calm down."** I yelled, and tried to make a calming warble.

"I think I can fix your memory," he said carefully. "The brain is-is made up of electric charges. Maybe I can fix yours!"

**"Hold on!"** I said quickly, not wanting him messing with my brain. This guy looked a bit unstable. No, he needed lots of therapy before I even think about letting him do that. **"Just, just hold on." **Ok, turning point. Here's where it could all go wrong.

**"Now, Dagur,"** I said carefully. **"Your not in a good state of mental heath, your a bit, off. But, BUT-"** I said as he started to get angry. **"I think that I can help with that. Now,**" I forced myself to have a calm, steady voice. **"Why don't we get out of here..."**

"Yeah," he said with a glimmer of calmness.

**"And we find a nice, quiet place, we'll sort this out, you can help me remember, and-"**

"And we can kill the humans?"

What? Oh, man, this guy was deranged!

Suddenly there was the whining of a plane. We swung out heads, and sure enough, there was an enormous jumbo jet flying through the air towards Berk. Dagur smirked and raised his hand, electricity surging over it. "Perfect opportunity!" He grinned and prepared to fire.

**"Oh no! No DON'T," **I yelled and charged, headbutting him. Dagur flew a few feet, nearly going over the edge of the sea stacks.

He looked at me in disgust. "What the hell was that?" He yelled. "I was about to start out ultimate goal! Getting rid of the humans! They're a sick, fat, dying race that needs to be put down, you moron!"

**"What are you talking about!?"** I yelled back. **"We're human too!" **Dagur scowled and clenched his fists, electricity clustering on his wings.

"No, we're not. We are so much better than them. They are mindless cows, fat and lazy, bleeding the world dry just to survive! They need their tools and their machines to live. You and I? We only need fish and space enough for take off!"

**"That's no excuse for genocide!"**

"If you remembered what they did to you, you would be the next one in line to slit each and every one of thems' throats!" He stamped his foot and clenched his teeth, face livid. I growled at him.

**"No, I really wouldn't. I'm still a human! I'm not a monster!" **This time my sentence was punctuated by a loud roar.

"Harrison," he glowered, and crouched low. "I'm warning you. If you throw your lot in with them, I'll kill you too!"

I unsheathed my teeth and split my spines, a low snarl welling in my belly. "**You can try!"**

He jumped forward, transforming mid leap. He had a shark like head and body, with a crown of spikes on his head. His wings were shorter than mine, but had enormous claws on them, and a long spiked tail. He only had rear legs, but they were thick and powerful.

A row of jagged teeth jutted from his mouth and he had round yellow eyes. Long, large spikes ran down his spikes and tail, and electricity snaked along his purple and black scales. He was a bit smaller than me, but looked ten times more ferocious as he lunged at me.

I jumped to the side and smacked him with my tail. He went into the stone I had been standing on earlier and smashed it, dust flying everywhere. He got up and spread his wings, blue energy welling in his claws, across the membrane, and down to his head, before firing off a concentrated energy blast at me.

I leapt over it with a roar and took to the air, my enemy following with a beat of his wings. I twisted in the air and dived, going straight for him.

We collided, and I soon raked my claws down his back. Dagur released a scream of pain, and I sunk my teeth into his shoulder.

A high pitched whine hit my ears, and I saw electricity racing towards my face. I pulled out and punched him in the chest. He tumbled backwards and crashed into the side of a sea stack.

I flew into him and started clawing at his face. Before I could do any damage, he raised his wing and plunged his overlarge claw into my side.

I roared as it pierced my scales and flesh, even louder as he pulled it back out.

**"You always did have no tolerance for pain, yours or otherwise!"**

He gripped my wing with one of his legs and slammed me into the stone. With a roar, he shot another blast that I had to lean to avoid. He stabbed my shoulder with his other claw as I tried to fly away, and I hissed in agony, trying to ignore it as I turned.

What greeted me was Dagur lunging. I shot him in the face, and he reeled backwards. It was a weak blast, though, and all it did was daze him.

Before. I knew it, I had his tail coming at my face. I bit it, and I heard him swing as I swung my head, making him go in an arc through the air as. I threw him.

Unable to regain control, he crashed on top of a sea stack.

With a loud WHOUM, I landed on the other side of it. He got up, shaking debris off, and shot blast after blast, all of which I avoided, dashing from side to side as each ray of electric blue energy came at me.

In less then a minuet I was upon him, dragging three claws over his left I to make a mark like his human form's tattoo.

He roared in pain, and I became a flurry of claws and teeth, tearing gashed into him.

He clawed my belly with his leg, and almost got me to back off.

Almost.

I spit another burst of plasma into him. And another. And another. And another. And another!

And then I was out. I breathed heavily, and Dagur lay on his side, scales charred and smoke curling off his body.

I realized that I was bleeding. The holes in my side and shoulder, and my cuts, now hurt like hell. I groaned and curled inward.

Suddenly Dagur struggled up.

**"Do you really want this," **he snarled, **"Hiccup?"**

My head filled with pain as he said that name. Why did that seem familiar to me. A mess of voices invaded my head.

_"Mornin', Hiccup."_

_"Hey look, Hiccup the Useless!_

_"Hey, there, snakie. My name's Hiccup. Don't worry about a thing, we're gonna patch you up all nice and good, that's it..."_

_"So, Hiccup. Ah just adopted! Ah gurl named Astrid. 'round your age. Paper work's gonna take MONTHS to go through, but I saw her picture. Quite pretty, maybe you can try your wooing skills on her eh?" "Gobber, please, no girl would go near me, even if I was on fire, and I was the last bucket of water on earth!"_

_"Hiccup, this is serious! You can't just keep in here all day, designing this junk. You need to get out there, or your never gonna __get a good name, just be a creepy inventor with a big snake, boy!"_

_"Hiccup, maybe you should go..."_

_"Get out of here Hiccup! No one wants your uselessness!"_

What WAS this?! Ow! Gah! My head! It hurt, it hurt so much!

I opened my eyes to see Dagur flying away, leaving bits of blood behind, but I couldn't follow with my skull feeling like it would burst apart.

The pain in my body caught up with me, and joined the pain in my head. It was so much. I needed someone familiar before I tumbled into the depths of insanity. But. I would never be able to find the Little Ones before I bled out. This was bad, really really bad.

I had to get out of there.

NOW!

I opened my wings and flew. Just flew. I needed to go somewhere safe. Somewhere protected.

Following my instincts, I flew home.

**######**

**Ok, I'm a bit more satisfied with this. I can continue the plot easier with this. **

**How's this one then?**


	5. Wounded and Angry, an Animal Going Home

**Here we are again. **

**The Unknown is going home. Let's see where that is shall we?**

**ALL OF YOU, PLEASE GO REVIEW TIME FURY IM BEGGING YOU!**

**HOME. **

_**The Unknown**_

I continued my flight home on pure instinct. It was hard to stay in the air, though, as raindrops assaulted my wounds, making them screaming in searing pain.

I growled in frustration as I slammed into the side of a high rise apartment building, then flapped away from it.

There was worse pain than this, and I had felt it. It was what I was protecting Astrid from.

Why was I protecting her again? I still didn't know, but having talked to her, I was certain she didn't deserve it! She had made me sleep when I was at the breaking point of it all.

But I had smelled fear on her. Fear of me. And I didn't blame her, not even a little bit. I tore the Shouty Man to pieces like an animal. I could still remember the taste of the blood. I didn't swallow any, but when you bite someone with razor sharp teeth, it tends to bleed.

I shook my head and continued flying. Home, like a carrier pigeon. Following my instincts to the safest place I had ever known, as human or this. But one flap of my wings made the hole in my side shriek in agony.

I roared, and my tail fins twitched. I suddenly found myself shattering the window of someone's office, scaring the crap out of the people inside.

Shaking the glass off, I looked up. I was in someone's office. A man, very fat, wearing a suit, stared at me.

**"What are you looking at?" **I snarled, and he practically flew out of his seat to run away. He screamed shrilly as he slammed the door, and I sighed, laying my head down in the mass of broken glass.

Everything hurt.

And I was tired. So, so tried. The look in Astrid's eye earlier, before I petted her. She was afraid. Afraid of me. And rightly so. For a first close impression, I appeared like a beast from hell in the fire.

Then I made my second impression by tearing a gang of armed men to pieces.

She had laughed at me out of stress, but when it calmed down, she looked at me like a monster.

I snorted out a puff of hot air. It didn't matter. As long as she was safe from being converted, she could think of me as Frankenstein.

Pushing myself up, I shoved my nose into the desk. Where exactly had I crashed?

Ah, I thought, a insurance building. State-something or other. I didn't really read the title. The man was obviously working late, as he had dinner on his desk. A big Burger King sandwich and fries. The smell drifted to my nostrils. Not as good as sea food, but my stomach made a loud noise, so I snapped it up. I hadn't eaten in a week. And the ten hours Astrid had forced on me were the most sleep I had gotten in half a month.

I caught sight of a full body mirror on the door.

Why he had that, I didn't know. But I looked at myself. Paws on the desk, face buried in the bag, searching for more.

I didn't want to see what I had become. An animal. A dog. I didn't want to see this, so I shot the mirror with non-concussive plasma. It shattered, and I growled at the pieces.

Hiccup. Dagur had called me Hiccup. Who was Hiccup?

I heard quite a lot of taunts and hateful comments in connections with that name.

Man.

Just, man.

Was I a monster before? Someone to be hated and feared, or simply hated. what kind of a person was I. How alone was I? There was a lot of hate in those vocal flashbacks. It was kind of depressing. Unloved then, unlovable now.

With a snarl, I shook my head.

No time for self pity. I needed to heal and get back to my job. The holes in my side and shoulder felt a bit better so it was time to keep flying.

I padded to the hole I had made and jumped out, tucking my wings to my sides to avoid getting cut.

I let myself plummet about ten feet, before snapping my wings open. I tried to keep to gliding, but the storm winds buffeted me around, so I needed to flap my wings more and more. The more I moved, the more it hurt.

I began to pant heavily as it began to lay siege to to my nervous system.

The burning wounds became all I could think about. They drowned my thoughts of my purpose, my form, my hunger or weariness. All I could think about was the wounds.

I made a noise in my throat that almost sounded like a whimper as I smashed into the concrete corner of a high rise building.

I tried to overwhelm it in my head.

Home, home, home, home, home, home. I needed to get home. I began a mental chant of this.

I flapped my wings again, pushing forward. Everything would be fine if I could get home. If I could get home, I could heal.

I was almost there. So close, so very close. I could see the mayor's house in the distance as I climbed over the top of a skyscraper. It was at the foot of a mountain, bright and shining. I could see the circular window of Astrid's room.

My gut was telling me I was close to home. Wait, my home couldn't be... That's impossible. I knew the mayor had a son called... Harry or something, but I could not be that kid. Even when I had first been able to go human, I was a stick figure. So thin I could probably slip comfortably between the pages of a book.

And I saw the Mayor's poster. He was an enormous pile of muscle, stubbornness and angry glares. No way he could have produce a sapling of a boy.

Nevertheless I neared the sprawling house, my instincts not telling me to deviate course-until I got within a mile.

I dove downwards towards a shack on the hill. It was made of wood, and about twice the size of Stoick. I softly landed and went human, wincing as the transformation hit the holes and slashes in my flesh.

My wounds were less severe as a human. The slash on my belly was scabbed over, and the ragged holes in my side didn't bleed as badly as I pressed my hands over them.

I looked at the Mayor's house. It just didn't give me the same feeling that I had, looking at the shack. When I looked at the shack, I felt a bit calmer. Like I belonged here. I took my hand off my shoulder and eased the door open.

The shack led down to a door, like a storm cellar. It was a bit dusty, like it hadn't seen anyone in nearly a year.

I pushed the doors away, groaning as I moved.

The room was dark, and I couldn't see a thing. While I had night vision as a dragon, my human eyes didn't have that luxury.

My hand searched for the light switch, and I found it, a big leaver beside the enterance. With a heave, I pulled it.

Industrial grade lights blazed to life, illuminating a large stone chamber. There was a cot in the back of the room, filled with blankets and place was lined with desks, littered with cogs and bits of metal, and from wires attached to the ceiling hung framework of different machinery, some looked like vehicles. Others like large hydraulics. It wasn't space age, but it was incredibly complicated. The biggest was a plane that resembled, at least in shape, himself.

Well, his dragon form.

It was half completed, with the right side being the majority. The left tail flap was painted red for some reason, but I shrugged and sat at one of the desks. The blueprint was the plane, scribbled with all kinds of calculations. Weight measurements, wing-to-body ratios, air resistants gauges. All there.

Whoever I was back then, I was a genius! And I must have wanted to fly too. A scribble at the bottom read, "Almost there."

I looked at my wings with a bittersweet smile. I had gotten my wish then. At the cost of my memory. I looked around a bit and found some medicines and bandages. With a smile, I began to treat myself.

I was home. I could feel it. Not a proper home. The place where past me had gone to feel safe, secure, part of something. A place I could pour my heart and soul into my passions without shame.

For the first time since before I was transformed, I felt at ease.

As I secured the last bandage around my shoulder, I found a small notebook on one of the desks.

Picking it up, I leafed through it. There was a picture of a huge black snake with a red metal tail, then doodles of dragons. One had two heads and two tails.

Another was rather fat and covered in lumps, with rather tiny wings. There was a really really flat one resembling a sting ray with huge teeth and broad wings.

Another one was long, with a thin neck and and broad but thin wings. Curved teeth jutted out of its lower jaw, and it's eyes bulged out of it's head. The top joints of its wings had hooked claws.

Then I flipped the page, and my breath caught in my throat.

Looking at me from the paper, licking his own eye, was Sharpshot. Right down to the arrow of his tail.

The next page had Nightmare. Then another had Veil, but a whole swarm of her, carrying off a bunch of metal.

Some pages had machines, others flawless drawings. Most were dragons.

There were names at the bottom of the pages.

Hotburple, Snaptrapper, Boneknapper, Whispering Death, each of their pictures appeared as I flipped though the pages.

One of them made me freeze.

Dagur's form was there, labeled, "The Skrill."

The next one had mine, labeled as "Night Fury."

My other face looked out at me in the form of lead, staring directly at the reader with cold eyes, on my rear legs, wings spread out and teeth barred.

I slammed the book shut.

No. I couldn't have _wanted_ this, could I? I didn't _design_ myself. There was no way in hell- right? I'm pretty sure, I would never do it now.

But what if the transformation had changed my morality as well. I could have been absolute slime before.

Shaking my head, I flung the book back onto the desk, sending a wrench and a few screws flying.

There was no way I could have been that kind of person. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I was.

I hobbled to the cot and climbed for a good long sleep.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Astrid<span>_**

"Astrid?" Fishlegs asked. He looked at me worriedly. I had just snapped a pencil in two with my fist, my anger making my fingers clench tightly.

I had been thinking about Toothless. That stinking self righteous son of a-

"Ms. Hofferson?" The teacher interrupted. Mrs. Phlegma looked at me with a confused gaze, and I looked at the splinter's of my pencil and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry."

She shook her head, rubbing her eyes as she walked away. I reached into my bag for another pencil as I tried to focus on the geometry in front of me.

Aaaaaaannndddd, I couldn't do it. Nada. Nope.

I was an athletic person, through and through. I wasn't good at numbers or words. I'm more of a beat it with your fist kind of girl, thank you very much.

But the bigger reason I couldn't focus had long ears, a tail, and a pair of large wings. How dare he take it upon himself to _protect _me_. _

I was not some helpless girl who could not take care of herself! I didn't need him to run himself into the ground for me!

Gritting my teeth, I ground the lead tip of the new pencil into the paper, the gears of my head finally, _finally _working it out.

Who did he think he was anyway? Some guardian angle? Some big hero? Ugh, MEN! He's so self righteous!

He was, he was, he was _stalking _me! That's what he was doing. Stalking me! Plain and simple!

I growled, making Fishlegs back away from me nervously. Shaking my head, I sighed. "Sorry Fish. Just some personal things making me angry."

The chubby boy relaxed. "Did any of that anger go into the twins?" Said individuals were sitting down a few chairs away, covered in bruises and sprained limbs. Tuff even had a broken nose.

"A smidgen." I held up my hand with index finger and thumb an inch apart, and he chuckled a bit. Fishlegs was really smart, and helped me out a lot with school work.

His arm bore a bruise from my fist that he _had_ deserved when he tried to make up stats for me. Plus twenty anger, aggression, and antisocial-ness my foot!

"So what's going on," he asked, finishing the last problem on his work sheet. He leaned backward, folding his hands on his belly and waiting for the bell.

"Someone trying to treat me like a girl."

That made him lean forward. "Ohhhh. How dead are they."

"None," I responded bitterly. "He gets away to fast. Plus he's disappeared for three days."

Yup, three days since my talk with the dragon boy. Next time I saw those wings I was gonna clock him so hard. "Wow. How many teeth of his are you gonna break?" Fishlegs asked.

"As many as I can."

"Ah."

We sat in silence after that, pencils scribbling on desks around us. I bit my cheek in concentration, finally finishing as the bell rang.

After turning the paper in I shuffled out of school, right outside to where a Gobber was. He was in his car, a dark brown Ford Fusion, and waved his robotic prosthetic at me.

Over my stay here, I'd been kind of proud to call Gobber a dad. He was a good man, if a bit odd. He was stern only when required, and great fun to be around otherwise, despite having a screw or two loose.

I grinned and waved back at him, running over to climb into the car.

"Ah there ye are. Thou' you'd been carried off by the popular crowd."

"Who, me?" I asked. "Nah, I'm waaaayyyyy to violent for their taste. They wouldn't know what to do with all this," I said, gesturing to myself, and my one legged, one armed guardian chuckled.

"Go' meh there."

He pulled out of the school, driving away. I bounced a bit as we hit the speed bump, and I scanned the rooftops for Toothless.

No sign of the big black jerk anywhere.

Though I could have sworn I saw something little and grey sitting on a trashcan.

"So how was school lass?" Gobber asked, and I answered him without taking my eyes off the rooftops.

"Good. How was work?"

"A pain in the arse, I'll tell yah. Snotlou' got in trouble agai' for helping Camicazi raid the boy's locker room for embarrassing evidence."

"Is he ever gonna stop?"

"Never has before."

"Yeahhhh..."

THERE! There he... Was? That was not Toothless. This thing was purple, and spiky. Not nearly as streamlined or sleek looking. It looked like even more of a killer than Toothless, all pointy were Toothless was raw force.

I gulped nervously at it.

"'Strid? Wha's wrong girl?" Gobber asked behind me, and I shook my head. This thing would act the same way as Toothless. Maybe he wanted to protect me too?

I shook my head at my adoptive father. "Nothing. Nothing. Just thought I saw something on the roofs."

"Oh? What kinda somethin'?"

"Oh nothing." I answered. I began thinking about something that had happened earlier today. Snotlout had called Fishlegs even more useless than Hiccup had been.

That made me mad. You don't speak ill of the dead unless they deserved it. But did he?

"Hey, Gobber. What was Hiccup like?"

The older man sighed. "Where's this come from," he asked tiredly.

"Some people were talking about him, and I realized, I don't know the first thing about the boy who's room I'm sleeping in."

Gobber looked at me sadly, and I nearly retracted the question, before he said, "He practically spoke in sarcasm."

This was so unexpected, I let a laugh escape before I pulled it back in. "It's alright. He can laugh. He was tryin' to be a clown sometimes. Other times, it was just to mask how much pain he was in."

I tilted my head. "But why-"

"He was often called 'Hiccup the Useless,' at the school because he always made mistakes. Trip over nothing, slam into lockers, ram head first into people, hiccuping all the while. He never tried to mistreat anyone, but they certainly mistreated him."

I didn't know what to say at this as the blond amputee continued. "Stoick, the boy made him uncomfortable. He didn't like how much he reminded him of Hiccup's mother. She vanished some fourteen years ago, no trace o' her at all. So he avoided the boy as much as possible, and made it seem as though he thought Harrison was inadequate when they _did _talk."

He clenched his fist against the steering wheel. "School wasn't much better. He made enemies there without trying. Snotlout and the twins physically beat him up on numerous occasions. There was-" he choked. "There was a scar on his back. Shaped like The old symbol Vikings used to initiate their chieftains with, 'cept upside down. Snotlout once put it there to make a point. That Hiccup was the exact opposite of a leader. He was weak, he was under confident, and that everybody hated him. I think- I think he shared their opinion at times.

I felt a little sick.

"But he had Toothless. The being nobody liked, just because of the scary look. But after Hiccup was done with it, that serpent wouldn't hurt a kitten. Kinda acts like one sometimes. And I tried my best to be good to the boy. But he kept his head high, and carried himself without shame. Though there were times, you could see that he started to crack. When he would look like glass about to break. Cracked, ready to burst and shatter everywhere, but not quite there yet."

He finished as they pulled into the mayor's house.

Resolving to beat Snotlout's face in next time I saw him, I stomped up to my room. There was a picture of a few of my old friends from a few homes back on the wall now, and a toy axe I'd had since I was little propped up against the window, ready for use if Toothless ever came back.

I flopped on the bed and grasped for a book-Eragon, ironically- and opened it, when there was a little hissing sound.

I peeked over the edge of the book. Nothing.

I went back to the pages, and the hissing returned. I closed the novel and looked around. I couldn't find anything that would make that noise.

Suddenly there was a pressure on my head.

I pointed my eyes upward slowly. Looking down at me was a green and brown lizardy face with yellow eyes this size of softballs.

I blinked.

It blinked and licked its own eyeball.

Ew.

I slowly reached up and grabbed it, lowering the thing to look at it.

A tiny green and brown dragon with itty bitty curling horns. I looked at it, open mouthed. "Wha?"

Then I spotted a paper tied to its leg.

It made no protest as I grabbed the paper and unfurled it. It was a note.

_Hello, Astrid. _

_This little guy is Sharpshot. He's my buddy. I know that you may not like me protecting you, but it's too bad. The first time I saw your picture, I had an overwhelming urge to protect. _

_Now, if you want to know where I'M staying, follow my Sharpshot._

_-The one without teeth. _

I am gonna punch him, I thought. He was no better than Snotface, acting like girls were brainless, weak, pathetic sheep needed coddling and protecting.

_P.S. He bites and pulls hair. _

Ok, now he's just being an ass.

* * *

><p>I followed Sharpshot to Toothelss's new place of residence, a shack a mile out from the mansion.<p>

He hadn't been joking about the little dragon's annoying tendencies, I thought as aI rubbed my sore nose and went inside.

I found Toothless resting in the cot. "There you are you-"

I stepped on something and looked down. Under my foot was a wad of blood stained bandages. Toothless's shirt was bloody as well, and he hissed in pain. His left wing was crudely tied down with bandages, and he held a ice pack to his head.

"Hey 'Strid." he said through dragon teeth.

"How-"

"Apparently it's not just me, Sharpshot and his little sisters," he cut in, anticipating my question.

"There was a guy like-" he winced as he eased himself out of the cot. "Like me. He was a lot scarier though. Especially more than my human form."

He winced again.

Looked like someone had beaten me into hurting him. "How's the other guy."

He winced. "Half baked and a few sprained limbs, bite marks, and a cool scar on the eye."

"And you?"

"A bit electrified, two stab wounds, and a slash on the belly."

Ouch. "I need you to help me take the shirt off," he said suddenly, and blood rushed to my face.

"Wh-what?!"

He seemingly realized what he had said. "NO!" He yelled' holding his hands out and crushing a bit, backing away in fear.

Good. He should.

"Sorry! The wings make it hard to get it off, and my wing hurts the stab on my shoulder when I move it. That's why it is tied up. I need you to tug it off my wings so I can Change my bandages better!"

"Oh."

I went even redder as he pulled the garment off. The bit of cloth hung off his wing in a limp state.

He looked at me with pleading green eyes. Whoever he was before must have won a lot of arguments with the forest green puppy eyes.

Reluctantly, I began to tug it off his wing when I froze in shock.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

There was just no way.

No way in heaven or earth it could be real.

I began to feel a little sick in the gut.

"Astrid?"

It was just impossible.

Just, no. It was all screwed up.

No, no, no.

"Astrid, what is it?!"

"Thats not possible!" I stumbled backwards, remembering Gobber's words.

"You, you can't be-"

"What-I can't be what?!"

Smack dab between his wings was an upside down viking symbol. I didn't know which one, but I'm pretty sure it was the one used to initiate chiefs.

"I-I think I know who you are!" I gasped.

**AND, cliffhanger. **

**Hehehehehehehehe**

**The symbol is the one Gothi put on Hiccup's forehead at the end of HTTYD 2. **

**Have an awesome whatever-point-in-time-you-read-this. **


	6. The Illusion Ends

**I need all the reviews, plz. If you enjoy this story, I am begging you to go and write your personal favorite parts. I want to keep continue, but of your interest wanes, so does mines as well as my inspiration. **

**Also, I have decided, Astrid will NOT get turned into a Deadly Nadder. Or am I lying? Rule one, the Rumbling Night Cutter lies. Or do I? **

**Review to keep me interested and inspired enough to write the answer. **

**Now,**

**THE UNKOWN IS:**

**_Astrid_**

"I think I know who you are!" After making a few short intakes of breath, I couldn't hold back the shock filling my chest any longer.

"HICCUP?!" I screamed, and the wounded dragon boy flinched, making a pained growl. His shirt hung from my hands, but I could only stare in absolute shock at the scar on his back.

"Dear, lord, you have some lungs!" He said, sticking a finger in his ear. "That hurt! Is your voice genetically modified to have the powers of a bullhorn or something?!"

I stuck a finger in his ear to cancel out the ringing and glared at me. "The other guy already clued me in on the fact my name was Hiccup! Can you tell me _who _Hiccup was?"

My jaw hung open, like the hinge connecting it to my head was broken. I couldn't seem to close it. Hiccup was Toothless?

"Astrid?" He waved his hand in front of my face. "Aaaaaaastrid? 'Strid? Stridy? Asty? Ast?" I could only blink, and he closed my jaw for me with one finger.

"Preeeety sure that's not meant to open that wide or that long." The dragon boy flicked his tail with irritation, an irritated scowl written across his face.

"Come on! I have been in the dark for nearly twelve weeks! Despite my scale color, that's not fun! Don't make me shoot you in the foot!"

That snapped me out of it.

I punched him in the jaw and he reeled backwards into a table, the corner hitting his stab wound.

I winced in sympathy as he half screamed, half roared, and flapped his free wing in pain, the constricted one struggling against the bandages that held it.

"Ow! Why! Why the pain, why!"

"You said you were gonna shoot me in the foot!" I countered, glaring at him weakly. I did feel bad about messing up his wounds, I really did.

"I was kidding! You were unresponsive. What's back there anyway, that you an tell me who I am. Did I, did I sign my own back or, something?" He twisted, trying to look over his wing without success.

It actually looked kind of funny, like a dog chasing his own tail. He realized what he was doing and sat down, ear flaps disappearing into his hair in depression, free wing folding tightly against his body and shivering.

"I'm not a dog. J-Just please don't snigger at me when I do odd things. It makes me feel like your-your funny little pet or something. I really don't want to be that, so just-"

"I sniggered?" Did I?

"Yeah, and it was very condescending, so, maybe you could, well, not!" He said, half angry, half miserable.

I had a severely wounded, in both his emotional and physical state, dragon boy put in front of me. You can't really blame me for being unprepared for the situation.

I shook my head and sat in front of him.

"I'm sorry, but... You can't be Hiccup," I said slowly.

"Well why not," he said indignantly, wrapping his free wing around himself.

"Well, for one, he's dead. Been dead for a year and twelve weeks!"

"I have a year of hazy memory and twelve weeks of Hades, or, as I call it, my new daily life," he retorted, and I winced in sympathy. But I pressed on.

"Hiccup was a weakling nerd!"

He gave me a deadpan glare. "Thank you for that," he said in a tone that dripped with weary sarcasm. Gobber _did_ say he practically spoke in sarcasm.

"But as you can seek the dragon doesn't go away completely when I go human. Bound to make me pretty strong. And for the nerd bit, we'll, ummm," he paused in thought.

"Ah!" He snapped his fingers. "I know the first fifty six units of Pi, and I actually understand the specifics of E equals MC squared!"

Ok, he was making some good points. But the Hiccup that Gobber told me about was strong, stubborn and someone to be admired. A strong personality who could fly through a storm unscathed.

Toothless was an ass with an attitude and superpowers.

But the proof was between his wings. A place he couldn't even see.

Wait, wait a second, wait a second. "Ok, wait a second," I said. "A few month's ago, Hiccup'a leg was found in a ditch. You, you have both-"

He yanked his left pant leg up to reveal cold, black steel underneath. It attached to flesh midway across his shin. One of the robotic prosthetics designed by Hiccup Haddock.

I realized he never fought as a human. He always fought as a dragon.

"...of...your...legs," I finished slowly, and he scowled at me.

"The lack of limbs doesn't translate to dragon form. Whatever happens to the human form doesn't go to the dragon form."

He began to unwrap his bandages. "Evidently, the same is not true in reverse."

I tried not to get sick at the gaping holes in his flesh. What the heck stabbed him?!

He pressed a button on the side of the leg, and it released with a hiss. The prosthetic released from his leg and clattered to the ground. The limb laid there, boot still attached, on the bare stone floor.

"Aaahhhhhh!" He groaned in releif, and rubbed the stump, which looked to have healed over quite nicely. "Forgot I was wearing a prosthetic, thank you Astrid. I needed to get the real thing out for a put. Gets a bit squished in there."

I stared dumbly. What else could I do, really?

Toothless was Hiccup. And there was no denying it now. Not with the evidence laid out in front of me. The scar, the limb, the huff that reminded me of Stoick.

"Hiccup?" I said, and he moaned, folding his free wing over his head in pain.

He flinched, dropping the banges. "Owwwwwww. Every time someone calls me that, I get something back, but it hurts!"

"But it's your name."

"I know. I just need," he groaned loudly. "I want to remember. Calling me "Hiccup-" he winced "c-calling me that helps me remember. Does wonders for my memory. Right now, I can remember bits and pieces of my life. Attending a political dinner with Dad, designing and building that-" he pointed to the plane framework above our heads. "Stuff like that. A few quotes from my life. Theres even this one time Snotlout _actually_ shoved me in a locker."

He shook his head and chuckled a bit. "Shoved me in a locker. Who _does _that anymore?!"

I stifled a laugh in my own teeth. "Still, are you sure this is what you want. It could lead to like a brain aneurism or something."

I was hit again with the forest green puppy eyes, pleading for help.

"How much does it hurt," I asked trepedatiously.

"Like your carving my head out like a jack-o-lantern. But just do it."

"Are you sure?" I don't like Toothless's protective nature, but I wasn't that cruel.

"Do it," he looked into my eyes seriously.

Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for the worst. For Toothless to become some screaming wreck or wild animal. "Hiccup-" the name had an immediate effect.

"AHHHHHHH!" He clutched at his hair as if trying to pull it out. His face contorted in mental and physical agony as he aggravated the stab wounds with his writhing.

I continued on, now determined.

I didn't like things false. And that's what Toothless was. False to the very core. Every word that came out of his mouth was a defensive bite, not the sarcasm Gobber had described.

I wanted the illusion of Toothless, the hardened, animalistic product of circumstance, gone.

I wanted to see what was left of Hiccup. Morbidly. "Not Toothless, Hiccup!"

My heart itched with pity as he screamed. "GAHHHHHH!" He screamed and clutched the desk in an attempt to steady himself. Part of me wanted to comfort him, tell him it would be all right, but it wouldn't be, not for him, unless he went through with this.

"Your name is Hiccup. People call you Hiccup. You are not called Toothless, you are called Hiccup." With each repeat, his screams got louder and louder, ringing through the chamber.

Sharpshot, a little orange thing, and a small grey dragon glared at me from the lights suspended from the ceiling.

Hiccup fell to the ground and curled up, clutching his head for dear life and hiding his face with his tail fins.

"You are HARRISON "HICCUP" HADDOCK-"

"-The third," he interrupted quietly, suddenly going still.

I froze. Did he...?

"Harrison Hikksti "Hiccup" Haddock the Third, son of Harrison Hikksti "Stoick" Haddock the Second, son of Harrison Hikksti "Hiccup," Haddock the First. Mechanics designer, tamer of a giant snake I proceeded to call Toothless."

Slowly, he took his tail away from his face and got up, looking a bit shocked.

Ok, now we were getting somewhere. Pretty soon he would be up and about as Hiccup Haddock again, and I could find out what was hunting me. Toothless may not have a clue, but I'm pretty sure Hiccup did.

"I-I am universally despised by nearly every human being except for Gobber-"

Uh-oh. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"-Who I suspect just tolerates me out of pity!" He struggled to free his left wing. "My own dad thinks I'm worthless. He's right. All I can do is make machinery! I'm a complete moron!" His voice was choked with panic and grief, eyes now draconic and slit pupiled.

This was NOT good.

Sharpshot glared at me. "How was I supposed to know he would react like this," I defended.

I stomped over to the rambling dragon boy and smacked him in the face. "OW!" He looked at me, gobsmacked.

"Listen to me, wallowing in self pity wont do you any good lizard head!" I poked him between the eyes, baking him sway backwards a bit.

He blinked and shook his head a bit, rubbing his temples. I could almost see the confusion leaking out of him as his eyes became less clouded.

Good. Maybe he's returning to who he was before.

"You can ether be Hiccup without all that moaning, or you can go back to being Toothless. But you have to be useful! You can't just break down! You've been a big, bad guardian dragon for weeks, don't break down and be a pathetic baby. Got it?" Im sorry if he had trauma, but I needed answers. He did too, I could tell.

Nether of us could last much longer on only half the information.

He nodded. "Yup. Uh huh. I got it. No more complaining about others."

"So?"

Who did he choose to be?

The facade of Toothless was something fake that would never trust anyone, be an ass, and make me want to beat him to a pulp.

Toothless was a persona to fill the hole left when the transformation took away everything that made him Hiccup.

Right now, he could choose.

Be Toothless, or be Hiccup, whoever that turned out to be.

He sunk into a seat and grabbed the bandages and medicine he had dropped, and began treating himself again.

I watched as he dabbed his medicines on the wound, the wrapped them tightly in bandages.

Then he reached backwards and untied his wing. The limb popped loudly as it extended open and closed.

"I was cutting off circulation to the wing. Not good. And applying the meds incorrectly. Also not good. Though..."

He shifted and laid back down on the cot behind him. "It's not like this feels much better." There was a casually sarcastic tone to his voice that made me smile a bit. It was in contrast to Toothless's biting, superior tone. It almost made me relax around him.

He flapped his now free wing and winced a bit. "I'm pretty sure I have accelerated healing, or this," he lifted his well healed stump, "would be raw and covered in sores. I would be dead without that little ability. As it is it'll probably take about three days for them to close, and a week for the stabs to heal completely. Though, with my attention span, it'll seem like five years!" He ran a hand through his hair, ear flaps perking up.

Then he smiled crookedly, one side of his mouth grinning wider than the other. His eyes were shining brighter than they had before, full of life again.

"Thanks Astrid."

I smirked back at him. He was back to his true self.

Hiccup Haddock had returned.

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>Hiccup<span>**_

It felt like coming back from somewhere I didn't like, becoming my old self. My entire body, including the stump ached. I groaned as started rubbing my arms

But I could _remember_ again. Toothless the snake, Gobber, my caretaker, Snitlout and the Twins tormenting me, Fishlegs.

My crappy relationship with Dad, getting the scar on my back. That had been one of the worst days of my life.

Running away from N.E.S.T., the people who had changed me. I could remember falling asleep in an alley and waking up, legless, on an operation table, IVs out the wazoo stuck into my skin. THE worst day of my life. That had been the day before I changed. I had been full of fear and crying horribly.

There was still some stuff missing. I couldn't remember any previous encounters with Dagur, and most of what I had found out about N.E.S.T., and some chunks of my "childhood," were still missing. But for the most part, I was me again!

I could KISS Astrid right now for what she did!

MAN that had hurt. But a good hurt, like like something heavy and oppressive that was attached to your skin being ripped away. A moment of pain, followed by relief. Like with my tied down wing.

I was an idiot as Toothless, tying it down so tight. I was lucky it didn't have to be cut off from lack of oxygen going into it!

I flapped the wing hesitantly, and looked back to Astrid. "So, hows about giving me the shirt back?"

She blinked, then looked from me to the shirt in her hand, and tossed it over. I pulled the ruined garment on-hey, I didn't have anything else, and it was cold in there!

I stretched and shook my head.

"Toothless?" She had a tentative look on her face, as if she wasn't quite sure who she was addressing.

"Nope, Harrison "Hiccup," Haddock," I said back, reaching for my prosthetic. With a hiss, it closed back around my stump and beeped once to signify its security. Now I remembered how it worked, instead of it just being a stolen good I knew how to operate.

The original design was for Gobber, but the one for the general public was much thinner and had interchangeable feet.

I focused on calibrating it better around the stump so it wouldn't hurt so much next time. I polished it, and oiled the ankle joint.

I looked back up and Astrid was looking at me with a dubious expression, arms crossed over her chest.

"What," I cried, confused, holding my hands out to the side, palms up, with a confused look on my face.

"What are you gonna do now?" She asked, and I sighed. I still felt sick at the thought of her alone, and had heart attacks at the thought of her dead. Nothing had changed in that respect. I still wanted her safe and protected.

I know that sounds sexist, but I couldn't help it. It was like instinct, only it felt... different. Except... Well I don't know, just different.

It wasn't like when I felt hungry and needed to eat. This was more like a nagging urge, I guess. I got the same laser focus, the same rapid heartbeat. But, not the same... Tingle on the spine. Like, when you act on instinct, your _entire _body feels alive.

When I'm protecting her, it's more like my focus is solely on what the enemy was doing, my body acting on muscle memory.

With a glance up at Astrid, I mumbled, "Keep on doing what I'm doing. Protecting you."

She growled. "I'm not just some girl-"

"And these are not just some men!" I exploded, patches of my skin turning to scales. "N.E.S.T. is a terrorism group, and a an apocalyptic cult. They believe humans are the most disgusting form of life on the planet, and, using sciences so advanced they would make your head spin, they take people and RIP AWAY their humanity. They did it to Sharpshot, Nightmare and Veil, they did it to Dagur, and they did it to me! And for some reason, I have an overwhelming urge NOT to let it happen to you! Even if this urge wasn't there, I would protect you! It's not a fate I would wish on anyone, so please, don't get mad if I'm trying to protect you from hell on Earth!"

She stared and me, her large sapphire eyes shining.

"Sorry!" I yelled, and held my hands up, flinching at the muscles over my stab wound moved. "So sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry, I lost my temper. That wasn't fair of me-"

"No."

"Eh?"

I realized her eyes weren't shining with anger-they were shining with tears.

"I'm sorry for getting angry when you were just trying to do me a favor. Your life is hell, and I can't immagine how much of a nightmare the past twelve weeks have been for you."

I gave her another deadpan glare. "Thank you for summing that up."

She smiled bitterly. "And I've been a jerk about the favor your doing for me. So," she swallowed, as if her next words were fighting to keep down, "I'm sorry."

I stared at her.

"What?"

"I said sorry!" She growled, but I could only stare at her dumbly and say, "What?" Again.

"SORRY!" She screamed, and I shook my head. "No, no, no, I yelled at you, you should be _mad _at me for doing that, not, this," I gestured at her.

"All, remorseful and stuff."

She looked up, and I _swear, _if she started crying or hugging me, I would tie her up and interrogate her, for fear she was a spy clone or something.

Instead, pain bloomed in my right shoulder as her fist connected with it.

"OW!" I grabbed my shoulder and gave her a wounded look. "That was the shoulder I was stabbed on! Come on, couldn't you have done the other one?"

She shook her head. "Nope. You deserved that for just going brain dead at a teary apology. No wonder you didn't have a girlfriend."

I shook my head at her. "Are you bipolar? OW! Ok, maybe I deserved that one."

She smirked at me, and I grinned back.

"C-can we start over?" I asked, ducking my head a little. "A-as friends? Please."

Astrid stiffened a bit and gulped.

"Astrid, I'm not gonna hurt you, and I promise I won't loose control of myself," I pleaded and held out my hand.

"I'll hold you to that," she said a bit fearfully, but shook her head. "Ah, who am I kidding. From what I've seen, Hiccup is too sweet a guy to do anything to his friends."

She shook my hand and nodded with a smile.

"See you tomorrow, shorty," she said cheekily, and I flicked my tail in annoyance and flattened my ears into my hair.

"How long are you gonna hold that over my head?"

"As long as my hairline is over your head," she laughed, and I rolled my eyes. "I guess I kinda walked into that one."

She went to the door and nodded at me. "I'll bring you more stuff for your wounds..."

I eased myself into the cot and nodded silently.

"...if you take me flying."

WHAT?! My ears perked straight up and I whirled around. "What do you mean?"

"Your dragon form is plenty big to carry someone. I want to see what its like to fly with you."

I stared. Would this girl ever stop shocking me.

"Who knows, if I like it, I may even get you a saddle. You'd be my dragon. Sounds like a movie. An outcast kid befriending and riding a dragon."

"Are you ever go-gonna stop making fun of me?!"

She shook her head and grinned. "Nope."

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>R.D.<span>_**

I looked at Alvin as he writhed in the machine. We had recovered him from the hospital, screaming for death.

A worthy candidate. He slowly mutated, becoming pure white, small spikes beginning to grow out of his body.

Dagur was still out there, only partially controlled.

The three prototypes and Night Fury were completely off the grid.

The new project, project "Screaming Death," became reality in front of me.

Soldiers stood around me as the transformation completed.

Alvin had become 90 meters long, and covered in spikes. His body was long and serpentine, and he had a pair of enormous white wings on what were once shoulders. He had a squarish head with deadly teeth, and a crown like structure behind the head. He had a pair of bulging red eyes and the tip of his tail was scarlet, as if tipped in blood.

He slithered out of the machine and to my feet. He bowed his head, and his spikes quivered in submission.

Another soldier to add to my ranks.

A soldier brimming with hate for the Night Fury.

The perfect soldier.

The Screaming Death!

**I dunno about this chapter, should I rewrite? Like I said, review to keep me interested and inspired. PLEASE**


	7. My Friend, the Dragon Boy

**I LOVE WRITING THIS STORY! And you guys seem to like it too!**

**A few people have been asking if this will have Hiccstrid, and here's the answer:**

**It's implied. There will be no blatant Hiccstrid this story, except at the end, BUT there WILL be a Hiccstrid-centric squeal to this called "The Lonely Guardian."**

**Keep on reviewing all of you. Each review fills me with inspiration. **

**To Foxmorgorth:**

**Thank you for the suggestion! I'll take bit of it and add it into the plot I have planned for sure! **

**Thanks to supersandman86, you are epic!**

**THIS ONE IS HALF FLUFFY! AND ONE HALF ANGSTY**

**_Astrid_**

After I got home from my little time with Hiccup, I realized something.

He needed to see his family again. I doubt he really wanted too at the moment. He was, forgive me but it's true, a freak of nature and his relationship with his Dad didn't sound all that great to begin with, but it needed to happen eventually.

It was actually was a lot later than I expected. It had taken a while to retrieve Hiccup from the depths of Toothless's mind.

He was better as Hiccup, I could already tell. He didn't make any defensive or biting remarks after he was Hiccup again. He didn't snarl miserably when I teased him, or look at me superiorly as I had seen him doing out of the corner of my eye.

I liked him a lot better this way. Easier to deal with, and not as over protective. When I had asked him to take me flying, he had looked surprised, but didn't protest.

I shook my head as I climbed through the round window in my room, climbing into the bed. I was hiding a partially insane dragon boy in a shack near my house. Heh. What a crazy life eh?

I changed into my bedclothes and crawled into bed, plotting ways to coerce Hiccup into seeing his dad again.

But I wanted my flight first.

I nestled into my sheets pulling them to my shoulders, and slowly drifting off to sleep. Before I did, I looked out my window, and saw the little speck of Hiccup's shack in the distance.

"See you tomorrow," I murmured with a smile, and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The next few days were nuts.<p>

After school, I dashed out the door, excited to see Hiccup again. I practically sprinted to Gobber's car and was hardly able to stay still the entire ride.

When we got to the house, I jumped out the door towards the little hut in the distance.

The dragon boy was waiting for me outside his shack, an excited grin on his face.

"Hey," he waved as I approached. He had his coat on, and a baseball cap to hide his ears. His emerald eyes sparkled with excitement.

He jumped up and ran to meet me halfway. "Want to go gliding?"

"Eh?" I asked, unsure of what he meant, but all he did was go dragon. I never really noticed how he transformed, but it was pretty cool to watch.

He would crouch on all fours, (all threes and one metal, technically) and the transformation would start in his nose, the black scales popping up, and making a ripple effect over him, like a wave. As the scales spread, they would be in his dragon shape, shape forming over Hiccup like a shell. The whole process took about three seconds.

Soon he was crouching on the ground, bandages over his dragon wounds, looking very enthusiastic. His tail lashed happily,and he had his mouth open in a grin. He had his teeth retracted, so it looked both cute and weird. No wonder the little ones had named him Toothless when he did that all the time.

He nodded at me to get on, and I started towards him, but he jumped a few feet away, a friendly leer on his face.

I stepped forward again, and he darted to the side, wiggling his tail rapidly. His smile turned into an ivory-less smirk, pupils thinning and eyes narrowing into a daring expression.

With a grin, I realized what he was doing and darted forward. He bounded away in a game of chase around his little shack. I rushed him, and he jumped over me, warbling teasingly. He beat the ground with his tail, a clear "Come and get me," gesture.

I ran forward, and he roared happily moving away in little hops.

He almost looked adorable, with his big puppy like eyes. I gave chase to the onyx sometimes-reptile, following his tail and sometimes managing to graze the tail fins. I couldn't catch him, until I climbed on the roof and jumped at him.

I landed against his scales with an _oomph, _and he froze, then grumbled at me in an annoyed way, his tail flicking behind me in annoyance, like_ "how dare you win our little game?"_

"Oh yeah, ya big baby," I said triumphantly, with a smug smile on my face. "I caught you. Whatcha gonna-WOA!"

He bounded forward, and I had to hug his neck to stay on. He ran rather violently-on purpose, I suspect-bouncing me up and down. I had to be careful not to land on one of his spines as he jumped and leapt with vigor.

We came to a large swath of forested land, the area around it compleatly abandoned. It was beautiful, with mighty pines stretching upwards and lush green grass covering the ground.

We were in one of the Berk nature parks, where all the forested area was.

He bounded between the trees, with me hanging on to his lower head flaps for dear life, until we arrived at a broad canyon. It was almost sixty feet wide and went down so far there was only darkness at the bottom.

"Hiccup?" I asked nervously, and the Dragon Boy just warbled excitedly, and twisted his head to give me an enthusiastic toothless smile.

"Your not gonna-"

He nodded, grunting in a way that sounded like "Uh-huh!"

Without any hesitation, he jumped into the gorge with wings open. We began to free fall, the wind biting my face. .

I was scared that his wounds would make us crash, so I screamed, clutching his head and grinning the sides of his neck with my legs. Suddenly he snapped his 48 foot wingspan open. Soon he had started gliding.

The thing about Hiccup: even his gliding rivals the average speed of some cars. We were zipping through the canyon with only twelve feet of room for his wings.

The sunlight glinted above us, and I

I laughed as he roared happily and sat with legs folded underneath me on his back, clutching at one of the triangular spines behind me. He flapped his wings once, slowly and carefully, to make us rise a little. I peered over his shoulder and saw the void below. The inky darkness below seemed endless, and the jagged rocks beside should have made me nervous.

Strangely I wasn't afraid. Hiccup wasn't going to let me fall, and I knew it-

-just as he made a strangled yelp and his wings froze in a half opened state. We began to fall, still going forward, our altitude decreasing rapidly.

Luckily the void ended and became a lake in front of us. We tumbled head first into it, me skipping like a stone after Hiccup bucked be like a horse. I swam back to the surface and glared at him, his now human face becoming an apologetic smile as he tenderly rubbed his shoulder.

I continued my glare, and he nervously sunk back below the water, leaving a ripple where his head had been.

* * *

><p>The following day we tried gliding again, only for Hiccup to land in a field of tall grass. We were back in the nature preserve, only Hiccup managed to crash land in a clearing, not a lake this time. The grass was taller than me, and Hiccup's dragon body made a huge rut in it.<p>

I went to check on him, only to find the half reptile sneezing his brains out. I jumped out of the way to dodge a glob of dragon snot. The sneeze that produced it sent the dragon tumbling backwards tail over head.

He got up practically covered in the grass and sneezed again. I started laughing at his expression. One of his pupils was more dilated than the other, and he looked like someone had just punched him between the eyes before he could realize what had happened.

After that, I couldn't stop laughing, and he couldn't stop sneezing. Every time me managed to get back to his feet, another blade would get stuck in his nose, and his face would practically explode from the force of the sneeze.

I was laughing at him so hard, and he glared at he, becoming human reverse transformation would start in his tail, the scaled disappearing till it got to his body, then they would merely sink into him, body shrinking and wings vanishing, until a fully dressed Hiccup was left in the same stance he had been mere moments before as a dragon.

"You could have helped there!" He said, annoyed.

"And miss the show?"

I received one of Hiccup's deadpan glares, and he shook his head saying, "You, yout a real helpful friend, you know that?" His voice was coated in sarcasm, and I punched him in the left shoulder with a grin.

He rolled his eyes, but couldn't smother a bucked tooth smile at me, and swept his tail under me to knock my legs down.

I fell into the grass myself. The blades tickled my nose and I had my own sneezing fit, the dragon boy above me laughing his head off.

"I-I-It's n-n-not-" I tried to say, holding off the sneeze. "F-F-F-ACHOO!"

It was his turn to be in jovial tears. His tail curled behind him, and his wings were clenched tightly to his back as he clutched his gut. The slash on his belly was now a line of pale scars thanks to his accelerated healing, though the stabs were still closing.

This didn't seem to bother him as he shook with lighter at my helpless sneezing fit. This went on for about ten minuets, and all the while I tried to protest my predicament.

"S-Sto-ACHOO!"

He just beat his tail on the ground and _screamed_ in laughter.

"Jerk," I muttered, and sneezed again, making it even worse.

When I managed to get up, I pulled him out of the nature preserve by his tail, the idiot was laughing so hard he couldn't walk. He just let himself be dragged, giggling his stupid little head off and curling up.

I'd show him not too piss off the girl that brings his food supply!

* * *

><p>At school, Snotlout tried hitting on me again.<p>

"Hey babe," he said, slinging his arm over my shoulder, and I snarled at him. "I notice you've been spending a lot of time alone. How's about you and I-"

He was cut off as I stomped on his foot. The arrogant jock squeaked in pain, and I punched him in the face.

He tumbled backwards, into Dogsbreath, Fishleg's older brother. He looked like my chubby friend, but only in general shape. Dogsbreath was twice as big and raven haired, with missing teeth and beady black eyes.

His right arm had a tattoo that said "Arm," in really fancy writing. I had rolled my eyes at that. Dogsbreath was the polar opposite of Fishlegs. While Fish was a walking talking Wikipedia with a soft heart, Dog was as dumb as a sheep with the temper of a daemon.

Snotlout gulped as the huge student rounded on him, and I smirked triumphantly as he was dragged off.

I turned to see Fishlegs right in front of me.

"Gah! Fishlegs! Give a girl a little warning, don't just sneak up on them!"

He shrugged and looked down at me. "Sorry. So Astrid, do you need help studying today? Because I'm tutoring Clueless, and that might take a while," he said with resignation. A few feet away, Clueless stared off into midair, not very aware of his role in our conversation.

I shook my head and said, "It's all right Fish, I'm actually late for something. You go on ahead, tutor where your needed, I'll catch up with you."

I turned on my heel and sprinted for the door, catching a suspicious look from the twins on my way out.

Only thirty minuets later, I was in Hiccup's little hideout.

He had cleaned up the place quite nicely. There was now an underground stream feeding a spring in the floor. His cot sat on a small island in the spring.

All his desks had been pushed into neat rows, all with seats between them. His machinery still sat in a chaotic mess on top of the wood, though, still giving it that "Hiccup Flair," as he called it.

I called it sloppiness. Sharpshot swung on one of the lights, blowing smoke rings from his nose, while Veil flapped around happily, making little designs with her smoke trail.

I waved one such design out of my face, and found the dragon boy in front of a completed motor bike. It was sleek, with two round headlights, and a pair of spikes behind the seat.

Hiccup was kneeling in front of the bike, surrounded by cans of blue and yellow paint.

"What's all this," I asked, and he looked up at me.

"Yours!" He said. When I raised an eyebrow to indicate I didn't understand, he jumped up excitedly. "A little thank you gift for bringing me back. You don't have any wings of your own, so I made you something to take you places faster than running."

He gestured at the unfinished bike grandiosely, and I looked from it to him a smile growing on my face.

Then I punched him in the left shoulder.

"OW! Why?!" He looked a little hurt, so I patted him comfortingly in the very place I had just punched. "It's the way I communicate."

Hiccup just rolled his eyes and bent to reach for a brush. He offered it to me. "Want to help?"

I nodded and followed him to the machine, and made a bright blue patch near the pedal.

"How's your wounds."

"Completely closed," he confirmed. "Though not fully healed. They're sore." he grimaced, and I reached across the leather seat to grasp his unmarred shoulder and looked at him.

"Hey, you said you gave him something to nurse too. He's probably more pissed off about this than you."

He nodded and continued painting.

I turned back to my work, squinting as I swirled sapphire paint on the cool metal in front of me with my brush. A question bubbled in my chest. Occasionally I would make a small noise to get his attention, only to loose heart in the question and wave him away, saying it was just a passing thought.

Finally I couldn't hold it back. "Don't you want to see your family again."

Hiccup froze in place, brush still with a yellow stripe across the side half completed. He tucked his head in his wings, muttering something I couldn't hear and went back to what he was doing.

Unsatisfied, I put my brush in the bucket and walked around the gift to pull him up by a wing.

After I forced him to his feet, he tried to look away, I grabbed his chin and turned it towards me. He pointed his eyes downwards, still avoiding looking me in the eye. He looked ashamed.

"Hiccup," I said warningly. "What's wrong?"

"No," he muttered. "I... Don't really want to see them." He stepped away, putting a tail fin between our faces.

"Why not?" I asked. Hiccup was such a upbeat guy, whatever was biting him must be bad. It was my fault for poking, but I couldn't help it. He muttered something, and I noticed something.

His hand was tightly clenched, and trembling horribly. I brushed his tail fin away to find his eyes screwed shut, and taking heave breaths through his nose.

"Are you mad at your Dad for the way he treated you?" I asked. "Because he regrets it. He really does. When you were declared "assumed dead," he was broken. He fell out of society completely. He only just picked himself up, and he's still pretty depressed."

My dragon boy friend shook his head, before starting to tremble all over. He looked loke he had when I was bringing the true him back.

Something clicked in my head, and a horrible possibility came to mind. "Hiccup, your not..." I swallowed. I was prying horribly. "Your not _afraid_ of him, are you."

He ducked his head in shame, moaning a bit, and plopping on one of the stools at his desks.

"Hiccup," I said quietly, and sat beside him, putting a comforting arm around his thin figure, arm above his wing. "Why?"

Hiccup snorted bitterly. "Well, have you seen the size of him?"

"Hic, you can tear apart twelve trained and armed men without getting a scratch on yourself."

He shook his head. "Thats the problem. I'm, well, a disgusting crime against nature. I can't thank you enough for tolerating my existence, but Dad's never been very understanding. He'll probably try to kill me on sight. He doesn't even like dog mutts. Hows he gonna take this?"

He opened his enormous wings slightly, before sighing and closing them again, and if shook my head.

"Then he doesn't deserve to call you his son," I said, believing it. Hiccup had become my best friend since I had resurrected him from the deaths of Toothless's mind. He was the only one who didn't make me feel alone. We both felt isolated most of our lives, so we could relate to each other.

"More like I don't deserve him," he muttered, and I gaped at him.

My expression of shock turned into anger, and punched him in the shoulder.

"OW!" He rubbed the spot I struck.

"Listen here Haddock. Bring up what I'm about to say ever again, and I will tear your wings off. You are one of the greatest people I have ever met. I thought you were an ass as Toothless, but your using something you never wanted to help people, instead of trying to reverse it. I don't even know if I would do that, but don't ever think little of your self again! Remember what I said, self pity is useless."

Hiccup had stared at me in shock until I kicked his artificial leg. "Come on Shorty. Let's finish my bike."

* * *

><p>I snuck out the back of the school, looking for the huge black shape of Hiccup. He had dropped me off at school today and promised to pick me up after to get my motor bike, which had dried.<p>

I couldn't find him.

All was quiet behind the brick building in the school, until-

"Astrid?"

I whirled around, and found the twins there, staring at me curiously.

"What are you guys doing," I snarled, composing myself. They flinched visibly, but Tuffnut responded with his usual mental prowess.

"Following you."

I growled and grabbed them by the shirts. "Why?!"

"Woa, woa, woa," Ruffnut defended frantically. "Look, Astrid, we normally don't care what people do, but your acting weird."

"Yeah!" Tuffnut contributed. "You used to be all angry and stuff. Glaring at everyone like you were about to put them under a guillotine. It was kind of awesome." a stupid smile spread over his face, and he shook his head.

"But now your all cheerful and stuff."

I pushed them against the wall, and the Thorsten twins screamed. "If I'm happy, I'm happy. It's no business of yours!"

Tuffnut was trembling hard.

Sheesh, was I scaring him that badly? Suddenly he raised a shaky finger an pointed behind me, letting out a strangled scream.

I turned to see Hiccup sitting there in Night Fury form, a fish tail in his mouth. He swallowed the morsel and nodded at me in greeting.

"Hey Bud!" I said cheerily and raised a fist towards him. He lifted a scaly paw and curled his claws into a draconic fist, bumping it against mine, and grinning toothlessly.

PHe looked at the twins, who looked equal parts shocked and terrified.

I moved to knock them out, but Hiccup held a tail fin in front of me and snapped it open, his signal for, _wait, I got this. _

His pupils started to thin, and the twins groaned. They blond terrorist teens clutched at their heads, and Hiccup's pupils thinned even more.

Tuffnut dropped first, hitting the concrete snoring. He was quickly followed by the female Thorsten, falling beside her male counterpart.

Hiccup went human and nodded at his handiwork.

"How'd you do that?" I questioned, and he shrugged.

"Eh, I just found it one day. A guy saw me raiding a sushi shop-" I scoffed at this.

He glared at me. "Aaanny way, he saw what I was going, and I just stared at him. I had a warm feeling between my eyes, and he started getting sleepy and just, well, that." He gestured to his latest victims.

"Wait a second, isn't that what you-"

"What I used on you when I saved you from the thugs? Why yes it is."

He slung a comradely arm over me. "Come on, your bike should be done drying. They'll wake up with a headache and shot term memory loss."

I looked at the sleeping twins and smirked.

I had one awesome best friend.

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>Stoick<span>**_

"So, Astrid," I said. We were at the dinning table, eating a rather awkward dinner. "How have you been?"

Gobber's adoptive daughter poked at her food. She had a odd smile on her face, and didn't seem to hear me for several seconds.

"Huh?" She asked, time catching up with her. "Oh, very good. Yes. Its very beautiful here."

"'Smore than tha' lass," Gobber commented, digging into a chicken leg attached to his prosthetic.

We were seated around a large ovular marble table. Gobber and Astrid sat in the middle, parrellell to each other, while I was at the end facing the door.

I felt a pang in my chest as I looked at Hiccup's empty seat. How I missed the boy, with his brilliant head and upbeat attitude.

Since he was declared dead, I couldn't stop thinking about him. Each conversation I had with him, I had never made any indication that I cared for him.

Not one.

Guilt was eating at me like a parasite. I just couldnt stop seeing my boy's ghost everywhere, accusing me.

_Right now, I could see his outline pushing the door open. I could see his eyes givong me an accusing glare. _

_"You did this," he said. "Your the reason I left. YOUR THE REASON I'M DEAD! YOUR A FAILURE AS A FATHER, AND A HUSBAND! YOU NEVER WENT LOOKING FOR HER BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO BUSY!"_

I shook my head to dispel the illusion, returning my attention to Gobber and Astrid.

"It's like you have someone to really _live _for, Astrid," he commented, and she nodded.

"Yeah. I have a friend. He's not good around people, but we can relate well."

"Ah."

Over time dinner was finished. Astrid excused himself and made a mad break for the door.

"I'm late to meet my friend," she said, giving Gobber a quick hug. "I'll see you later."

A few moments later, I heard the door open and close.

I slumped in my seat, hating myself.

Gobber was a far better father than I was, and he only had Astrid for a month or two. I rubbed my eyes and planted my elbows on the table. "Hiccup..." I sighed.

Suddenly I felt Gobber's real hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure he didn't blame you in the end."

"I know, Gobber, but... He's gone. He was there, and then he wasn't. For a year, I though he was just being childish, focusing on my work, more than him. I should have been out there," I got up and began pacing.

"I should have looked for him! I should have moved heaven and earth to find my son, but I didn't! I ignored him! I always ignored him. And now..." I paused, srtaring at the ground.

My stomach felt acidic, and I wiped a hand down my face, shaking my head.

"And now he's just gone.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Astrid<span>_**

"Ok, Hic, can we just take this slowly," I pleaded.

We were gliding over the craggy cliffs of Berk, me gripping his sides tightly with my legs. This was pretty scary, the waves crashing beneath me.

The cool night air raised goosebumps on my skin, and I could barely see in the moonlight.

Hiccup warbled and flapped his wings twice and rose a little in the air.

He soared near the city and I wrapped my hands nervously around his neck. "Hiccup?"

He grunted an affirmation to my question and dropped to the sea, dragging a wingtip in the water, a line of sea-spray behind us.

He roared happily and I smiled a little. It was his first time out since his stab wounds had recovered fully, so my friend was a little excited. He flew under a natural stone arch, gulls cawing overhead.

I let out a little laugh, and he dipped towards the water again.

"Hey!" I swatted his head. "Don't give me a bath, you useless reptile!" He snarled irrtably and ascended, flying sideways to avoid a sea stack. I yelped and gripped tighter, trying not to fall off.

"I said no bath!"

All that happened was him chortling in amusement.

"Oh, you think that's funny? Remember, I bring you food, reptile boy! I WILL bring you something nasty if you dunk me!" He spilt his spines and became silent. With a beat of his wings, he rose above the next sea stack.

I loved it! This was amazing. The moon glinted brightly overhead, and the smell of salt in the wind stung at my nose and ripped through my braid.

"More!" I demanded, hugging his neck. "Go nuts buddy! Gimme your best shot!"

Hiccup twisted to look at me, searching my face for sarcasm. Finding none, he gave me a toothless smile and began speeding forwards. He dove downwards to gain speed, then darted upwards.

With an exhilarated roar, he went into an upwards barrel roll, rising to the top of Berk's cliffs, then surging forward.

He flew through the streets, making sharp turns and tight maneuvers to flawlessly avoid the buildings.

I laughed happily, and he beat his wings, gaining altitude to soar over an apartment building and landing for half a to push himself into the air with his legs, and kicking off from the building beside it.

I could see the dumbfounded looks people were giving us through their windows, but we were gone before anyone could open a cell phone, or even get over their shock.

He flew in a tight circle around a large tower, his feet scraping the sides of the building. The whole time I couldn't keep a ridiculous smile off my face. He began to climb rapidly, moving his wings in a circular motion, his belly skimming the glass of the windows.

My friend spiraled away from the building, going a few feet away-and suddenly my blood went cold.

I don't know why, but I turned my head to look at the top window of the tower.

The silhouette of a human stood in the tinted glass. It was blurry, so I couldn't see much, just an outline.

The figure pointed their arm up. It didn't make any sort of panicked movements. The figure just stood there calmly, back straight, and head facing our duo.

They pointed at _Hiccup._ A bad feeling welled in my gut. It knew we were there, and it knew what Hiccup was. I really hoped my friend would just fly away from here. I'd tell him about it when we landed.

I pulled at Hiccup, trying to get him to turn. Suddenly he froze. Just as we hit the clouds, Hiccup went rigid, he wings stopping completely, and his limbs going stiff.

Velocity carried me upwards a few feet, and I screamed, flailing and trying to grab at his back. His eyes were weird, the pupils so thin they were almost non existent. It was scary, almost like he was _possessed_.

"HICCUP!" I yelled, and all he could seem to do was yelp in surprise. Gravity caught up with us and we began to hurtle downward.

My limbs flew around in panic, while Hiccup put his paws over his ears and roared in pain as we fell.

Terror coursed through me as we fell, stinging and got, like boiling water poured over my insides. I was gonna die! It was gonna end like this, my guts splattered on the pavement below, Hiccup's right beside me.

I grasped at the air, trying to grab a wing, a tail, anything. He was just out of reach, and I screamed again.

"Come on buddy, come on buddy, focus on my voice!" I yelled at him as he roared again flailing his wings.

"Listen to me, Hiccup, listen! Please, we're gonna die if you don't get us out of it."

He began to angle his back to me, and I pushed through the air towards him, trying to grab at his scales.

Finally! My fingers dug into his neck and I pulled myself to him, securing myself on his back.

He righted himself and opened his wings, spreading them as far as they could go. We were in a terminal decent, the wind ripping at his wings with such force I half expected the to come off.

Hiccup still seemed a little frozen, and we were quickly approaching a maze of buildings.

Not good! Not good! Not good!

On instinct, I leaned forward, and to my surprise, so did Hiccup, going into a forwards dive.

He was letting me steer!

I threw my weight to the left, and he turned sharply, going into a street.

I did as best I could, directing the dragon boy from side to side and up and down, trying to avoid hitting anything.

Left, past an apartment.

Pull up slightly, over a street light.

Right, around Wall Mart.

Down, into a car tunnel.

And straight up and out, shooting over the edge of a cliff and back out to clear water.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I released my hold on his neck.

"WHOOOOOOO!" I yelled. "Yeah! That. Was. AWESOME!"

Beneath me, Hiccup panted, and he staggered in the air, wobbling.

"Woa, buddy," I said, rubbing his head. "Land?"

He nodded and gave a short roar indicating affirmative.

He turned to head towards a small island outside of Berk, while I breathed in and out to calm myself down. I began to think about the shape of the window.

What was it?

What did it want?

And how did it have the ability to make Hiccup freeze?

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Hiccup<span>_**

I landed roughly, every muscle in my body sore.

That had hurt, a lot. I don't know what happened. I just... Stopped. My brain just stopped working, and every muscle in my body went stiff.

Then a loud ringing filled my skull and my brain itched, and my spine ached. When we began to fall, I couldn't even think about her, till she started yelling for me.

I was ashamed of myself, to be sure. As Astrid climbed down, I went human and folded my wings over my head.

"I'm so sorry Astrid," I muttered. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

My friend looked at me and helped me up, practically carrying me to a rock and sitting down. I let out a long breath, feeling immensely guilty. How could I let that happen?

"Don't be!"

I froze and looked up.

"Wha? But-but I nearly killed you!" I gaped at her, and she planted a hand on her hip. "I just got to save both our lives!"

"Bu-but-"

"It wasn't your fault, Hiccup," she cut in, putting a hand on my mouth. "I saw something. It was someone, in a window. It pointed at you, and that's when you froze. Somehow, some way, it made you do that. Whoever it was is to blame. Not you? Got it!"

I nodded. After becoming Hiccup again, I learned that I really hate arguing with Astrid. Probably because there was a large amount of punching involved in an argument.

I don't know why she was still there! I was a monster, but here she was, being my friend. Shouldn't she be trying to hunt me down? Killing me? At the very least, calling me a useless lump or a freak?

Apparently not, as she hugged me comfortingly.

I looked at her. "Um, Astrid."

She pulled away and looked at me.

"Yeah, Hiccup?"

"You... Are my friend, right?"

All I got from her was a nod and a playful knock on the shoulder.

"Yeah, you idiot."

I chuckled. "Your communication is very unpleasant. Violence and insults."

"And your a pushover as Hiccup. At lest Toothless tried to intimidate me after I started laughing at him!"

She smiled at me and patted my head, playfully condescending. Scowling at her, I collapsed against the rock, looking at the night sky above me.

"So, Gobber's your dad," I asked after a minuet, and she gave a sigh of relief that I wasn't about to plunge her into one of my emotional crises.

"Yeah. He's been really good so far. Making sure I go to bed, do my homework, all that stuff."

"Evidently, he's not so awesome at the first one, seeing as your here and not resting for school tomorrow."

She laughed and laid down next to me. "Do you miss him?"

I swallowed. "Yeah." My eyes counted the stars above us, and I dragged my tail through the sand anxiously.

"Do you want to see him again?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to see him again."

"No."

"Are you scared of him?"

I hesitated, fighting what I knew I should feel against what was in my gut. I fought that internal battle and raised the edge of my wing to hide from Astrid, but this time she pushed the limb back down to look me in the eye.

I held her gaze, and answered her question.

"Yes."

She shook her head. "He won't hate you."

"He might."

"You don't know that."

"Almost everyone did before."

She was about to say something, but I got up. "I don't really want to face the world again. I have absolutely no interest in rejoining society. I only have bad memories of people. Well, all except you."

I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair with a frustrated groan.

"I'm scared of all of them, ok. I can tear them apart, but they don't know that I don't want to. They'll, they'll hunt me down and kill me, or worse. I keep to the shadows because I feel safe there, but that is not the same as being happy. Having you, as my friend, it's been the best time of my life, before or after the transformation."

She was sitting up now and looking at me.

Her eyes were filled with pity. Pity I didn't want.

So I dealt with it the same way I did when I didn't want to face people's hatred of me.

I tried to be funny.

I rubbed my neck. "Sheesh, 'Strid. Do you have claws or something, OW!"

A small smirk played on her lips. Good, it was working. "No claws, just fingernails. You have weak scales."

I shrugged defeatedly. "Meh."

"You ok?"

I rubbed the red marks her nails had left one more time and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. So, what did you think of your first flight. Other than the nearly falling to your death bit."

"Awesome. Again?"

I waved her off, yawning. "Maybe later. Is Gob expecting you back tonight?"

"No." She shook her head, honestly looking a bit worn herself.

"How about we sleep here. I'm wiped out."

She nodded at me and stomped off to find a place to sleep, while I hung my head and sighed.

Life as a dragon boy was hard sometimes.

**FINALLY! Man, this took a long time to write!**

**Anyway, review, I beg of you!**


	8. Scream, Scream and Die!

**GUYS! There is a poll on my profile asking what stories I should start up or focus on, PLEASE go vote on it!**

**Heres the chapter people have been waiting for. MAYBE!**

**Quick shoutouts to halobeast-117 and jlrdsr, for behing such awesome and supportive reviewers, and PernsnicKty2018, welcome back after your two week absence. **

**HICCUP IS AFRAID, BUT NOT OF THE SCREAMING DEATH. **

_**Hiccup**_

I am not a morning person. I was as Toothless, but after I became me again, my body seemed to complain for three hours after I got up, unless something exciting was happening, and I always just want to go back to sleep.

I got up and yawned, remembering the previous day. Ow, Astrid really needs to trim her fingernails!

I rubbed my neck, not really believing that she didn't draw blood, and went to look for her, my wings and tail dragging in the sand behind me.

I grumbled irritably, hating the sun for rising. Why did it have to be morning? Why couldn't I just sleep for the rest of my life. And WHY did Astrid have to sleep so far away!

Granted, she was only, over a rock ridge from where I was sleeping, but I had gone the wrong way looking for her and wasted half an hour. I'm allowed to complain in the morning, right?

I found my friend in a small basin of land. She seemed to enjoy roughing it, as she was snuggled into some large leaves she had found, a small smile on her face.

She really was quite pretty. Her hair almost shone in the morning light, and even though her eyes were a little big for her face, it was cute to me, and the small smile on her face only made her look sweeter sleeping.

I shook my head. I was being a creeper, watching her sleep. She's my friend, nothing more, I chided myself.

Besides, what would she see in a hideous crime against nature like me?

Nothing, that's what. I was a worthless freak doing all I could to make my existence justified.

I tapped her on the forehead with my tail. "Hey, 'Strid, wake up."

She blinked her eyes open, looking at me blearily, just coming out of dream land.

"Nice dream," I asked. "You seemed quite happy in it for a bit."

She got up and stretched, her back popping from stiffness. "Yup," she groaned as the bones of her spine realigned themselves. "It was about our little flight yesterday. That was amazing, you know that?"

I she grabbed my tail and I helped her to her feet. She smoothed out her clothes, straightened her braid, and grinned at me. "Ready to go, Shorty?"

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. Was she ever gonna let that go? Well, if I got taller than her, _I_ was gonna be the one to hold it over her head. Get the pun? Har-Har?

"No. Transforming right after waking up makes my bones hurt all day. Could you wait for about an hour?" She nodded, and we began to walk, strolling the island silently.

"Hiccup?" She asked suddenly, and I looked at her, grunting an acknowledgement. "Your not planning on staying in this... Situation forever. Are you?"

I gulped, an indescribable emotion coursing through me. I honestly didn't know what to do. I couldn't take the fight to N.E.S.T., and I couldn't stop protecting her. What could I really do about my predicament. Fly away and be eaten by guilt and self hatred for the rest of my life? Nah, I'll pass.

I shrugged, and pressed my ears back into my hair, folded my wings tightly to my back, and let my tail go limp behind me

"I dunno Astrid. I can't let them turn you into, into this," I gestured at myself nonspecifically and sighed. "But as strong as I am as a Night Fury, I can't take on a whole organization solo."

She punched my arm playfully, knocking me over a few feet, and I rolled my eyes. "Don't be so down, moron."

"Right..."

She bit her lip and kicked a bit of sand onto my tail, which I flicked out with an annoyed scowl. "What is "Nest" anyway?" She asked curiously, and my fists clenched. The mention of those sick people got me on edge. Even as a dragon, it's hard to unwire nearly a year of terror associated with something.

"They're not called "Nest," it's an anagram," I explained.

She cocked her head to the side. "What anagram could you possibly make out of Nest? Never Eat Seared Toast?"

"What," I asked, caught off guard by the ridiculous suggestion. "No, New Earth Selection Team."

She snorted, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "Sounds like someone really wanted their initials to spell 'Nest'."

"I know right," I laughed, loving that she could release tension like that. "Anyway, they are a terrorism cult devoted to diving human beings to extinction."

Astrid raised an eyebrow at this. "But aren't they human too? That's ridiculous."

"Yeah, thats what makes them so dangerous. They hate their own kind. They hate themselves." I rubbed my neck, drawing my wings around myself for comfort. Months of bad memories flooded me. "That makes them willing to do all kinds of things. Suicide bombings, genocide, public shootings. Lemmings, all of them, going to their deaths for no apparent reason."

I curled my tail around my legs, trying to stop myself from shaking. "They acknowledge that Earth needs a dominant species, though. So they're trying to make a race more suited for that role."

"Dragons," Astrid guessed. "And for some reason, they want me?"

"Yeah. For some reason, they only pick the outcasts and insane," I said quietly.

"But they picked me," she protested, and I gave her a small smirk.

"Exactly."

She grabbed my hair and shoved me to the sand roughly. I knocked her over with my tail to join me down there, and she punched my shoulder lightly.

We smiled at each other, until my grin faded, my gut wrenching at the memories N.E.S.T. had left me with, one of the darkest moments of my life, ever.

_I ran through an ally, mucky water splashing at my feet. I was even smaller than I had been when I started running from them, my ribs taught against my skin. _

_Casting a glance over my shoulder, I tripped over air, with my usual grace, and fell into a trash can. _

_My stomach made a loud noise, and my gut felt like it was eating itself. This couldn't be healthy. _

_The murky, polluted air drifted in and out of my nostrils, making me cough. I couldn't let them take me. I don't know what they want with me, but it can't be good. I wanted to live..._

_Didn't I? _

_The more I thought about it, the whole thing was more about avoiding pain than living or dying. I really wouldn't care if they were here to assassinate me, as long as it was painless. But when they nearly got me... The scream I heard from their building would haunt me forever._

_However long that entailed for me. _

_I would rather DIE then go there._

_In fact, I want to die. Just let me die. I want to die right now!_

_I knew I wasn't in my right mind, I was half starving, in pain, and alone. _

_Wouldn't death be prefferable? _

Suddenly I was brought back to the present by a pair of fingers snapping under my nose. I blinked and saw Astrid inspecting me, eyebrows furrowed with worry. As one of my darkest memories faded, my heart rate calmed at the sight of my best friend's face.

"Hiccup," she said. "Whats wrong?"

"Nothing," I whispered. "Nothing at all. I'm fine. I'm-I'm, I'm fine."

She didn't look convinced.

"No, no, really. I'm all good Astrid. I have someone to live for now. My best friend." I patted her shoulder and got up, her following me."You."

She gave me a quick squeeze, wrapping her arms around my bony shoulders and pinning my wings to my back. I had to go upwards on my feet a little to sit my head on her shoulder, and she patted me on the back before releasing me, holding my wiry form at arms length with a smirk on her face.

"Don't you forget it, Dragon Boy." She patted my shoulders and then let her hands fall to her sides. Her smirk turned into a friendly, comforting smile.

That brought a grin to my face. I hopped a bit and spread my wings out. "So, Milady," I said in a grandiose voice. "How would you like your flight back to Berk? Calm? Or as exciting as a roller-coaster?" I bowed mockingly and held out my hand in a pseudo fancy way, trying to joke with her.

One of our little jokes was that we would get all fancy with each other. Like ancient people courting or something.

Heh, I wish.

She took the jest with a small smile playing her lips. "I'll take the awesome choice, my good sir," she said in a posh voice, trying to go along wing the joke, and pretending to curtsy with her skirt, like a lady.

HA! Astrid, a lady! HA!

"But without the falling bit, if it's not to much trouble," she finished

"You got it!"

I crouched low on my hands and feet and prepared to transform, when the ground below us started shaking.

"Earthquake," Astrid questioned, looking at the sand nervously. She took a few steps to the side, testing the ground under her boots.

"No, we're not on a fault line," I said slowly, my insides freezing. I shuddered and pressed my head to the ground, brushing my ear out of the way to hear against the ground better. My tail swished from side to side behind me in anxiety.

I felt something...familiar nearby. Something. I very much didn't like.

My enhanced hearing let me hear odd vibrations in the ground. Moving around. Rumbling. Almost... Shrieking? Ok, what was this?!

I got up, shaking sand out of my ear, and pushed Astrid back. "Something's down there," I told her. "Might want to stay back a little. I'm gonna blow it open."

She nodded and took a few steps backwards as the transformation rippled over my skin, forming my dragon body.

I landed on my front paws with a heavy noise, growling, and charged myself up, blue light emanating from my back, spines and wings.

I didn't really use this a lot because I was always wiped out when the adrenaline faded, but I needed the extra power it gave me to get at whatever was down there.

Sorry Astrid, looks like we're staying her a bit longer than planed.

I prepared a plasma blast in my throat and aimed it at the ground where. I had previously pressed my ear.

The rumbling and shaking got worse and worse, to the point where Astrid and I stumbled. I swallowed the plasma blast and steadied her with a wing, making sure she didn't fall. I scowled, a low growl escaping my throat, and my vision narrowing as my pupils thinned.

I didn't like what was going on, because a stench filled the air. It was horrible, repulsive, disgusting, the worst thing I'd ever smelled. I knew exactly what it was to.

A biologist would go on and on about hormones and chemicals of the body, and enzymes to explain it and stuff, but I'm an engineer. I didn't get all that stuff, but I didn't need to. Because the smell translated almost automatically in my mind.

It was the smell of _hate! _Pure, unadulterated, undiluted loathing for someone, to the point where there was no spark of warmth for its target.

It was mixed in with something else... Chemicals and fear and blood. And something familiar.

Very, very familiar.

I growled, and amplified the power charge, glowing so brightly Astrid had to look away.

"Hiccup, what are you-" she started, but she was cut off when the ground began to crack, the sand seeping into the crevices and leaving only bare stone behind.

The cracks widened and lengthened, all centering around the point where I had listened to the ground. A loud screaming filled the air, chilling even my spine.

Sensing a battle, I prepared myself for flight, crouching low and splitting my spines into their V shape, pressing my ears and head flaps into my neck and protraction my teeth, baring them in a snarl.

The epicenter of the cracks shook violently before-

BOOOOM!

A huge shape exploded from the ground with a eat piercing scream.

The thing was HUGE! Ninety meters long and bristling with more spikes than a porcupine. It's body was lithe and snakelike, with a hint of red at the end. Thenrest of it was pure snowy white. It had a pair of bat like wings just behind the head, and triangular spines on the underside.

The head was huge, dwarfing me by far, rectangular, with a rhino horn just above its broad nose, several red tipped spikes on the head, and a crown of ridges. It had large, dangerous teeth, and a huge pair of glowing scarlet eyes, tiny black pupils narrowing at me with loathing.

**"Night Fury," **he growled, contempt in every syllable.

**"'Sup?" **My answer was accompanied by its usual sass, translated perfectly into dragonese. I prided myself a little on being just as verbally annoying as a dragon as I was as a human.

**"I'm going to gut you like a fish,"** he snarled, and I raised a scaly eye ridge. Oh man... Seriously?

**"Seriously? Of all the things to say, y-you go with the fish gutting line? L-let me tell you, really, very original."**

The creature roared, obviously even more mad than before. He lowered his great, ugly face down to me and snorted, blowing hot air in my face. This wasn't like when I had fought with Dagur. I at least had a shot at peace with him.

Alvin and I both knew where this was gonna go.

**"You should watch what you say, you runt. They made you fast, not strong," **he growled.

**"I was always fast. All they did was give me wings and actual muscle mass," **I replied snidely.

**"True enough. But don't you remember me, you little scum?" **He slithered from side to side maliciously, as if making a plan of attack.

**"Not really," **I answered, not likening where this was going.

**"So you forgot the night you changed eh? You forgot how furious you were, how you lost control."**

My stomach twisted. I wasn't proud of what I did to the Shouty Man, but what did this have to do with him?

**"You forgot how I begged you to stop as you tore me to shreds?!"**

Oh.

**"Well," **I said, hesitating.** "You certainly look... Robust now. Much better than when I left you."**

He hissed, not amused in the least. He glared at me with revenge lust in his eyes.

**"The funny one, aren't ya? We'll fix that soon enough. My name is Alvin, but you may call me, the SCREAMING DEATH!"**

**"Nice name."**

He snarled at me, and it just puffed in his face.

**"Anyway, and I'm here on orders from my boss. They're very happy orders, as they are my greatest wish at present."**

**"And that is?"**

**"To kill you!"**

The big white snake like dragon roared, and I pushing Astrid out of the way with the tip of a wing.

The back of his mouth glowed. Before he could fire, I shot a blast of plasma into his face, the blue light exploding in a brilliant burst.

The force of the blast sent the bigger dragon hurtling away. With a heave if my wings, I launched myself into the air, the Screaming Death following behind me, pumping his wings as hard as he could.

I stopped, and let myself drop, landing on his head and digging the claws of my left paw into his skull, drawing blood.

Alvin screamed, this time so loudly my head rattled. Using my discombobulated state to his advantage, he shook me off. I flew a few feet, before snapping my wings open and soaring back up.

He took a swing at me with his pointy tail, the scarlet end barely grazing my wing as. I rolled over the strike. I found a spike-less patch and lunged. With a short roar, I dug my teeth in, then used velocity to drag Alvin down about a mile out of the air, before he shook me off.

He bled from the bite would, and I spark disgusted at the rotting taste his scales left on my tongue. He opened his mouth, and a large amount of fire balls flew from his giant maw in quick succession, like a Gatling Gun, flashes of fire and smoke coming from under the crown of ridges on his head.

WHAT THE-

One fireball hit me, and it was like being slammed by a wreaking ball. A _really, really hot _wreaking ball. OW! Tumbling backwards, I pulsed the charge coursing through my body, and sent out a thunderous plasma blast as I fell.

It hit Alvin in the side, and a blue starburst lit up the sky.

The snakelike dragon plummeted towards the water, but pulled up at the last moment, tail splashing in the water.

I shot more and more supercharged plasma blasts at him, knocking him from side to side, then rushed him, claws extended.

I tore at the exposed undersides of his wings, opening a huge gash.

Suddenly I was brought down by his tail slamming down on my back. I hit the water, the air leaving my lungs, the charged power fading, the blue glow returning to stealthy black.

I sunk beneath the waves for a moment, before paddling back to shore. Surfacing with a gasp, I clawed my way to the pit where Alvin had emerged, panting heavily.

I didn't see him anywhere, but I also noticed my best friend had vanished too.

**"Astrid?"**

Without warning, Alvin slammed into me from above. He created a huge pit in the ground, with me pressed into his nose and forehead like a bug on a windshield.

I shot him in the face with my plasma blast again, but it was way less effective than when it was supercharged.

This time he didn't even flinch from the blast now, and we broke into one of his tunnels.

I rolled on the stone ground while he slithered towards me, hissing maliciously.

He reared like a cobra and struck at me. I jumped to the side as his jaws clamped on the air I had occupied mere moments before. He did it again, and this time, I crawled back onto his head and slashed him on the head again.

Another disorienting scream hit me with the force of a shockwave, and I barked in pain, before he swung his head upwards, crushing me against the top of the tunnel.

My mind went fuzzy from the force of the blow, and I fell to the ground, little bits of debris following me and clattering against the ground.

I tried to struggle to my paws, but he slammed his tail into me, crushing me again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

It was bad. Each blow was like having a truck slammed onto my back. I thought he was breaking my bones, but I could still move. It hurt all over, but. I could still move. That was a good sign, I guess.

**"You see this boy?!" **Alvin said sadistically. **"Your not so great. In the end, everything that's special about us came out of a test tube. Mine just happened to be the better test tube!" **

He slammed his tail on top of me one more time, before opening his large maw to delifer the final blow.

I groaned, and suddenly heard a loud yell above us.

We looked up at the same time to see a blue and yellow shape drop into the tunnel.

**"Astrid?!"** I exclaimed. **"What the-" **

She landed on Alvin's head, rolling to avoid breaking her legs. She clung to his horn as he thrashed, and clung to the horn and faced his nose.

Clenched in her hand was a fistful of the grass that had made us sneeze like nuts a few days ago!

She was either crazy or clever or both. She shoved it straight into his gigantic nostril-wow, she's got guts- and the self-proclaimed "Screaming Death," went cross-eyes.

He sneezed so hard, he flew backwards into the wall.

Astrid leapt off him as he did-though she did get caught in the snot blast-and rolled agin! coming up right in front of me, wiping herself off, disgusted with the phlegm now splattered on her front.

Alvin hit the wall so hard he caused a cave in, the itching, burning sensation cased by the plant stuck in his nose preventing him from thinking clearly enough to evacuate.

A boulder hit his head, then one bashed his wing. They piled up on him, each pinning another part of the dragon's body down, until, with a mighty crash, that side of the tunnel collapsed completely, burying him.

I laid there for a minuet, panting as the stinging in my back dulled a bit.

Astrid turned to me, hands on her hips, looking very smug.

I went human again, and her smirk became even bigger. "That's TWO time's I saved your scale-covered butt," she bragged, holding up two fingers.

I rolled my eyes. "Circumstance, both times!"

"Shut up," she said, punching me in the shoulder, and I yelped. I felt something warm spread through the back of my shirt. "No offense, your a smart guy and all, but when you go Night Fury, you tend to stop thinking with your head," she tapped her temple, "and start thinking with your claws and fire. Someone had to get a back up plan while you two played the dominance game up there." My friend placed a hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow as if daring me to contradict.

I spluttered, unable to come up with a decent response while trying to figure out what was wrong with my back.

Noticing my efforts, Astrid looked over my shoulders and gasped. "Ouch, what did he do. She spun me around and hauled the back of my shirt up.

Upon seeing it, she sucked air in through her teeth. "Owwww! That's a lot of cuts! Ohh, Ouch!" She winced in sympathy, and I tugged the hem of my shirt down to cover the waw flesh.

"I'll just patch it up when we get ho-"

She glared at me sharply, causing me to shut up. "Don't even think about it Hiccup. Those wounds need a second party to treat and monitor all night."

I looked at here a bit fearfully. "And what does that mean?"

She grabbed my by the wing and hauled my to the vertical tunnel. "One," she said. "It means you'll have to carry me out in your claws, same thing on the way back to Berk, and..." She paused releasing me.

"How do you feel about a sleep over?"

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Astrid<span>_**

After Hiccup got us back to Berk, I practically had to pull him by his tail to get him to come to the mayor's house. He was whimpering and shaking all the way up the hill, and since his pain tolerance was UNBELIEVABLE, it wasn't from the wounds.

It was from fear of his Dad. It was getting kind of ridiculous, I can't see Stoick ever laying a hand on Hiccup in the past, but...

I looked at his wings and tail. If most people saw those, they would be keen on the intent that I would loose my best friend.

I swear, I wasn't trying to get him to meet with Stoick. He needed help scratching between his wings sometimes, let alone treating all those cuts and gashes on his back.

It was kinda awkward, though to be carried by the waist all the way out of Alvin's tunnel and back to Berk. I rubbed my hips on the way in, at the places where Hiccup's claws had dug in a little.

He edged inside curling his tail around himself and hugging his wings around himself.

I put a comforting arm around him. "Come on buddy. Once we get to my room, we can treat your cuts. You don't have to see Stoick, I promise."

His eyes were draconic and slit pupiled with fear. He shook and stumbled a bit, unwilling to advance.

I hated to see him like this. Full of fear of something he shouldn't be afraid of.

He trembled until he saw a tank.

Toothless's tank. The heated lights made the jungle decorated cage glow orange in the darkness. The onyx serpent was curled around a tree, staring at his old master returned from the assumed dead.

Hiccup slowly approached the tank, the tips of his wings ghosting the carpet.

The dragon boy approached his loyal pet without fear, steps slow and methodic.

"Toothless," he murmured, uncurling his tail. He unlocked the tank's glass door with the fingerprint key. The system beeped and opened, and the snake inside slid out.

I never really got a full view of him. The serpent was twenty three feet in length, with a head not unlike Hiccup's Night Fury form, ear flaps and everything. His back had small triangular ridges on the back, and his entire body rippled with muscle the last three inches of his tail were cold red metal.

He slithered up to his owner and bowed his head in respect, closing his eyes and pressing the flat of his skull into Hiccup's palm.

"Hey, Bud," he scratched under the snake's ear flap, and his pet hissed in pleasure.

"Look at this," he held up his scale covered tail, opening and closing the fins a few times. The snake curled curiously around his owner's appendage, tasting the air above it with his tongue.

"Yeah Bud. I'm back." He pet the snake's head, and held it in his arms, lightly guiding it back to the pen.

"Sorry Bud, you have to stay in there. I'm not supposed to be here. Please?"

The reptile hissed and slid back into his cage, his metal tail clinking as it made the final stretch inside.

He coiled up and bowed his head at Hiccup. The respect emanating from the snake was palpable as the glass door slid closed.

I walked over to Hiccup and patted his shoulder. "Wow," I breathed. "_That_ was cool."

He gave me a weak smile, still shaky about being home.

I gave him a short hug and started to lead him back up the stairs.

I looked at his pale face, his freckles standing out, and ear flaps almost disappearing into his hair. I frowned in sympathy for him as he shakily ascended the stairs.

We arrived at my room, and I quietly closed the door. Hiccup sure was fussy when it came to letting other people treat his wounds.

"Sheesh, Hic," I groaned as he flinched away from the medication cream again. "You faced a two-ton flying-machine-gun-chain-saw snake, but you can't handle muscle relaxing and anti infecting ointment?"

"If I recall," he whined, "He's the reason this is necessary in the first place." I grabbed the back of his neck to stop him from moving as I treated the many stretches of deeply cut, skinless flesh between his wings and the rest of his back.

"You'll be covered in scars by the end of the year," I muttered. "Sometimes I think you like it."

"Yeah," he moaned sarcastically. "Pain, _love it!_"

When I was done, I helped him wrap bandages on the wounds while I swatted his head for the sass.

Later that night Hiccup disappeared, scavenging his old clothes. He came back with black cargos and a grey t-shirt that he ripped holes in for his wings, moving gingerly as the medication stung under the cloth and bandages.

He swished his tail, and nestled into one of my plush chairs. "You've redecorated,mor rather, decorated, since the last time I was in here," he commented, looking at my animal drawings, toy axe, stacks of books, and small TV.

Without warning, he grimaced and shook his head. "I don't like it."

That earned him a kick to his real leg, a hard one.

"Ow," he muttered, and rubbed the limb. "Sorry."

I nodded and strode to my bed, not daring to change in front of the dragon boy, and flopped down into bed. Hiccup studied me with his large emerald, _human _eyes, before blinking them closed.

"Am I a coward," he asked. "For being afraid of people?"

I thought about it. He'd been mistreated and outcasted his whole life. Snotlout even gave him physical scars to go with his emotional ones. If he had been that hated before, what would they think of the huge black monster capable of leveling small cities within the hour?

"No," I answered finally. "No your not."

And with that, I let sleep take me.

* * *

><p>in the morning, I found Hiccup pacing, wings flapping restlessly and an agitated expression on his face. He looked at me, when I woke up.<p>

"Ah, good! Finally, your awake! Listen, I didn't want to worry you by leaving before you woke up, but I really need to go."

He started towards the window, not waiting for a response.

Without thinking, I swung my legs out of bed and stepped on his tail. "Wait!"

He turned, raising an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Are you sure your ok? I mean, what if Alvin or Dagur come back? You won't stand a chance like this."

"I'm fine. I'm supposed to be _your_ protector, remember?"

"And your doing a great job, nearly being eaten while I had to knock out the snake monster."

He growled at me defeatedly, and I stuck my tongue out at him like a four year old. I can't remember the last time someone made me this happy... or that _I _made_ them _this happy.

Hiccup sat on the floor, and his stomach groaned loudly. "Sorry, kinda hungry. You slept in late, it's almost noon."

My eyes shot to my clock... Which was a twisted heap of melted plastic. I glared at Hiccup. The boy had the nerve to shrug innocently. "Hey, it was being annoying."

I just continued to scowl at him until he shifted uncomfortably.

"Sorry."

Suddenly the door opened.

To my horror, a very confused looking Stoick came in, holding a bouquet of roses. "Astrid, my nephew just dropped by and asked me to give these to you..."

And the mayor's green eyes fell upon Hiccup, the flowers falling to the ground.

Hiccup's eyes turned into slit pupils of fear and patches of his skin became black scales.

"H-H-Hi, Dad."

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>R.D.<span>_**

I looked as the soldiers unburied Alvin from his tunnel. The dragon was still very much alive, but very much wounded.

I looked at the bruised serpentine dragon and growled.

The Night Fury was proving to be more trouble than he was worth, just like-

I shook my head. Complaining would get me nowhere.

If this keeps up, I'll need to deal with the Night Fury personally.

"Do you require help getting back to base?" One of my men asked

"No," I waved him off. "I can handle it."

I slipped off my coat to reveal my own wings and tail. With a flourish, I took to the skies, soaring away from the battleground.

My time would come soon, and the Night Fury would ether bow...

,..or be destroyed!

**AAAAANNNDDDD CLIFFIE. HE. REMEMBER WHAT I SAID ABOUT THE POLL. **


	9. Until Your Ready To Come Home

**HI!**

**THIS IS THE RUMBLING NIGHT CUTTER WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER OF GUARDIAN NIGHT FURY! **

**halobeast- thanks for your reviews, and by the way, I really like your name. Beasts are epic, and Halo is an excellent game. I don't play myself, but I've heard good things. **

**supersandman-once again, you are epic, the most epic idea guy ever.**

**PersnicKety- can't wait for the next chapter of SOD, and whatever other fics you write next. **

**jlrdsr- lots of thanks for the reviews**

**Sapphirewolf- yup. Couldn't resist the reference **

**JediknightMarina55-I do cliffhangers because I am despicable and love to torture my readers to keep them interested **

**silverwolves- thank you **

**Kineil- I've been meaning to go back and fix thoes, really sorry. But trust me, you just bolstered how much I love writing this, really you did. Thank you! I actually just now got your review at the time I'm typing this, so... Yeah! **

**I AM FEELING REALLY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THIS CHAPTER! REALLY, I DO. THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!**

_**Astrid**_

I could only stare in complete horror as Hiccup began trembling, his scale patches fading in and out. **  
><strong>

His wings were spread out, as if he was trying to make himself look bigger, and his tail rigid behind him, fins splayed. He was partially crouched, holding his hands in front of him, a look of mortal terror plastered on his freckled face. He backed away slowly, like a wounded animal distancing itself from a predator.

The gargantuan mayor just stared open mouthed at his son, walking forward slowly, his massive footsteps heavy on the ground. His son was cowed by his mere presance, backing up ever quicker.

Hiccup began to panic, she could see it on his face. "Hang on, Dad, Dad, just wait! I, I know that _this_," he flexed his dragon limbs, taking one step backwards for every step Stoick took forwards, "looks _really _bad. And that- that I am in a girl's room, alone, w-with her. Bet ya never saw that coming, right?"

My heart clenched in pity for him. He was petrified, 100% of his skin now Night Fury scales.

The creature that was my best friend had tears prickling his eyes, threatening to well over. He hugged his wings around himself. His earlier intimidation tactic was abandoned, now he seemed to be trying to make himself as small as possible.

It was working. He looked like a small lizard in front of a lion.

He was rambling now, Night Fury shrieks punctuating every other sentence.

"I know, I've been away for a while. I... I got lost. L-like the irresponsible kid I am, right? It's like you always say. Not following the simplest orders, acting all, "Do as I say, not as I do," at work."

He began sweating, and the look of shock and horror on Stoick's face deepened with every word from his son. I couldn't tell his absolute emotion, but looked wrecked, like someone had just ran him over.

I made to get up, but I couldn't seemed to make my legs move. I was glued to the scene in front of me.

"I mean, look at me, let myself go a bit, didn't I? After all the times I said this town could do with a little less feeding. And look at this! N-no leg!"

Stoick's eyes widened at the robotic limb as it went from my carpet and clanged against the wooden floor, the ankle joint whirring a bit as it recalibrated to the different terrain. He looked from Hiccup's face to the prosthetic, his mouth widening with each movement.

My friend moaned like he did as a dragon, the deep warble sounding deep in his throat as his expression became agonized. The closer Stoick got, the more in pain he seemed to be.

"Guess you have two cripples to gripe about now, eh? D-Dad?" He joked, and I swallowed a bit, pointing my own grimace at the metal leg.

He was almost on his knees now, and he was a bit unbalanced as the foot was not designed for a position like that, so he wobbled.

Stoick took another tentative step forward and reached out a hand.

Hiccup roared once and flinched, hiding his head under his left wing, before withdrawing it. The loud, inhuman noise Hiccup had made caused Stoick to retract his hand. "I'm sorry Dad, I'm so sorry. It's all so messed up. Mom disappeared only a few days after I was born. I know you blame me for that. It's alright, it's true. If I- if I wasn't here, you might still have Mom."

My heart clenched when he said this. I wanted to comfort him, or punch him in the face for thinking like that, _anything, _but my body betrayed me. Only my eyes and head were we're working as I tracked their movements.

Hiccup shook his head rapidly, his ear flaps flopping from side to side.

"I-I saw Toothless earlier. Just like me to see my pet before my dad, right?" He swallowed and flapped his wings once, a d stumbled, using his tail to stay upright. There was now only a few feet between him and the wall.

"I bet work's been a lot easier with me gone. No more- no more exploding wear houses, or explosions on the street. A-And I see Toothless has been staying in his pen, guess that means your not-your not tripping over him anymore. That's nice- thats really nice. I bet you've had a heck of a time without me, you probably want me to go now. It's fine, I'll just fly ways, back to my new home. Deal?"

Stoick said nothing, his face now pure disbelief, almost mirroring the expression the Toothless persona had made when I commented that he was shorter than me.

"Deal?" Hiccup pressed as he bumped into he wall. There was nowhere for him to run now as Stoick advanced. Hiccup sheilded his face behind a wing a made a half roar, half shriek that rattled the windows.

I understood now. This was never about if Stoick would try to kill Hiccup or not- it was having all of what he just said confirmed.

Slowly but assuredly, the Mayor reached out to his son, the Dragon Boy squirming even more with every inch that he got closer.

When the hand came, it was more like a question, like he hadn't been sure the Hiccup in front of him really existed. He brushed the membrane of Hiccup's wing, and slowly pushed the limb meant for flying away.

Hiccup was still scaly, but his eyes popped open, still dragon, and with _extremely_ thin pupils.

"Oh, son," he whispered. "What have I done?"

Hiccup's eyes got even bigger at this, and he full on _roared, _leaping over Stoick and behind me. I yelped in surprise and jumped out of my seat as the dragon boy behind me transformed. I could feel his confusion in waves.

He wasn't coping. Not at all.

All traces of fear vanished, replaced by a low snarl. "Son?" He whispered, but Hiccup used his tail to pull me closer and bared his pointed teeth at his father.

I pushed on his head. As a Night Fury, every inch of his body could easily, effortlessly knock me over. I wasn't even an obstacle to him like this.

But he complied to my push, and backed away, sheathing his teeth with a pop.

"Stoick," I said calmly, intense panic spreading on the Mayor of Berk's face. "Stoick, please calm down. He would _never _hurt you."

"Then why is he-"

"Because you hurt him, sir," I said, as placating as I could. Man, Hiccup was waay better at diplomacy than I was, because I said exactly the wrong thing.

Looking like he'd been shot, he staggered, leaning on the wall for support, looking at Hiccup with pure sorrow in his eyes.

Hiccup started to growl again, but I swatted his head. "Hiccup," I said warningly. "Your not helping. Your just snarling, like a wounded animal."

That made him growl indignantly, so I pressed, "You said yourself, you don't want to be an animal. But your doing what a hurt animal would. Snarling, trying to scare away the problems your too scared to face yourself. Stoick is your _father, _buddy. You don't have to be afraid of him."

Stoick started to walk forward again, but Hiccup slashed the air between them in a warning to stay back.

Having enough of this nonsense, I pulled at Hiccup's weak spot-the lowest flap on the left side of his head. For some reason, he never had any power to resist when that was tugged.

With a yelp, he jumped towards my direction and I pulled his head to look me in the eye. I stared into his luminous acid green eyes, pressing my nose to his. His warm breath puffed against my face and slowly, his rapid breath calmed. With time, his pupils dilated.

He rumbled calmly, and I patted his head. "That's it bud. Thats good. See. Your _safe. _He doesn't want to hurt you," I looked pointedly at Stoick, who nodded.

Hiccup looked from me to him his ear flaps going down.

"Hic," I whispered. "Turn human again." he grumbled a bit, and my eyes narrowed. With a sigh, he complied. Stoick watched the transformation, amazed, looking at his son when it was finished.

Pushing himself back to his feet, he brushed off his pants and refused to look at Stoick, who just coughed awkwardly. I rolled my eyes. These two had no communication skills. They just... stood there, like it was expected that they would get their points across without speaking.

"Ok," I grumbled, and went, and they both looked at me, expecting to be saved from the awkwardness.

"SAY SOMETHING YOU DIMWITS!"

They jumped straight into the air at my sudden shout. I had to keep myself from snickering at their expressions. This was supposed to be a serious moment... But Hiccup looked like someone had just stepped on his tail.

Managing to maintain a stern look, I crossed my arms and glared at both of them. The situation went unchanged for almost six minuets.

Finally, Stoick spoke up. "Hiccup,"

The boy in question looked up to see Stoick looking earnestly at him, dull green eyes looking pleadingly at his son, begging for forgiveness.

"I'm sorry. F-For everything."

Hiccup looked up at his father, with shimmering human eyes. "Me too."

* * *

><p>Hiccup sat across from Stoick in the dining room, Gobber and I parallel to each other between the father and son.<p>

Hiccup shifted uncomfortably in his seat, Sharpshot and Veil sitting on the tops of his wings. Nightmare was sitting in front of him on the marble table, glowing weakly.

The Dragon Boy was straight backed, as to not aggravate the myriad of cuts on his back from his fight with Alvin.

The clock ticked loudly, no one wanting to say anything first.

Stoick stared at them sadly. Hiccup hadn't confirmed that he had forgiven his father, but he wasn't yelling and screaming at him like I grudgingly thought he should. In a fight, he could be a bloodthirsty beast, but as Hiccup he was practically spineless.

My best friend had a conflicted look on his face. His fists shook a bit.

We sat in cold silence for a while, until Hiccup got up, the little ones scattering.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I-I can't handle this right now. I need-I need to clear my head."

I got up too, and sprinted to catch up with him.

"Can I come with you," I said. He shouldn't be alone. Not after what just happened.

He looked at me with big, trusting green eyes. "Yes," he whispered.

I followed him outside, to the garden. It was a small green field about the size of a tennis court. It had neatly sculpted foliage, trees, and a still rectangular pond, so perfectly still in the windless night it was like glass. It was slightly cold, and goosebumps raised on top of my arms and I shuddered, before looking at the hybrid next to me.

He looked like he wanted nothing more than to go to his little underground workshop, or to fly away as far as he could.

"It's a mess," I started, playing with the hem of my skirt. "Your mutated, your father wants you back, but your too scared, and your best friend doesn't know what to do about it to get the fly-happy Hiccup back."

He scoffed and slumped. "I really shouldn't exist. I'm... I'm like Dagur and Alvin. Not human. I get up every day, struggling to find an excuse why I should continue breathing when I could become like them cause..."

I was flabbergasted at this. He hated himself? He doesn't want to exist?

No. No, no, no, no. I can't let that stay that way!

But before I could try to bring him out of this, he spoke up.

"'Strid?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to be here."

I snorted. That was obvious enough.

"What are you gonna do?"

With a large sigh, he buried his face in his hands and flapped his wings impatiently. "I dunno. Dad... Wants me to stay. Gobber has no problem with this," he flicked his tail at himself. "But I can, I can just see it. Dad can't quite accept that the freak before him and his son are one and the -OW!"

I had floored him with a meaningful punch to the gut. He slid away a few feet and wheezed for breath. I mentally kicked myself when I remembered his mutilated back, but he got up like it was no big deal focusing on refilling his lungs instead.

"Haddock, how many times do I have to reassure you, because I will?!"

"This is your reassurance," he coughed, drawing in a shaky breath.

"No, that's your punishment for thinking low of yourself. _This_ is my reassurance." I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. I felt him burry is face into my neck, and I did the same to him.

He was very, very warm. Like a living heater. Particularly near his belly, where I was pretty sure the organ that made his plasma blasts was. Bit it was nice. It made me a little sleepy, the comfort of it.

He was shaking though. He was still upset.

"What's wrong," I mumbled, not moving.

"He wasn't supposed to be sorry," he answered quietly into my shirt."Astird... I deserve to be hunted down. Look at me, I shouldn't exist."

Really?

"Do you want me to punch every ounce of oxygen out of you again?"

He stiffened against me, and I just held him tighter.

"Hiccup, without you, I would probably be long gone from here without you. I would have maimed Snotlout at some point. I would get in trouble and be shipped of somewhere to cold parents with artificial affections that are only in it for the foster money, like I have most of my life."

I felt his arms tighten around me, and I just closed my eyes and guided us to a bench I remembered being close.

"Your my guardian Night Fury. Remember that when you need a reason to exist, all right? Don't you dare think you should be dead, and I will tear off one of your tail fins if you ever _want _to die. Understand?"

I felt him nod against my shoulder. We sat like that for a few minuets, just holding each other.

"I am reeeaallllyyyyy bad at my job."

I pulled away and looked at him. He had a bittersweet smile on his face, and looked exhausted. "I'm supposed to be the protector, and here I am, crying in your arms."

Planting a fist on my hips, I smirked at the Dragon Boy. "I tend to drive people to tears, one way or the other."

"I don't doubt it in the least," he smiled genuinely now. "But still, shouldn't I be the strong one here?"

"Never Haddock. You could be a kryptonian, and I would still be the superior one here."

This raised an eyebrow from him and his tail twitched in amusement. "Kryptonian? Your a Superman nerd?"

"Shut up!" I smacked him upside the head, and he laughed, his smile lighting upmhis face again. "Hey, there's my Shorty. Not that mopey other guy!" I ruffled his hair, and he grunted indignantly.

"Meh."

But he couldn't keep the smile off his face.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Hiccup<span>_**

I walked back into the house, never a wing length away from Astrid. I faced my father at the table.

I just can't bear to be here. I don't want this. Not yet. It's too soon.

Its not that I don't forgive him, I do, I really do. But it hurts. It hurts a lot, just to be near him.

But I have Astrid.

And she's a heck of a lot better than just listening to Sharpshot talk my ear off.

"Dad," I said, willing my voice not to shake. "I'm sorry. I just can't. Not right now. I need to come to terms with some things."

"Go on," Gobber spoke up, getting up. He hobbled along and looked at me. "Kid, you have no idea how much of a relief it is to see you alive."

He planted his prosthetic arm on my shoulder. My fellow amputee looked at me with serious blue eyes. It was almost scary, how much like Astrid's they were. They could have been genuine father and daughter.

Then he pulled away and looked at down at me. "But you need to sort out all... This," he gestured noncomittingly in my direction.

"But you just gestured to _all _of me," I spluttered, and he grinned.

"Yes, that's it, sort out all of you."

"Y-your the best, you know that," I said dryly, and he laughed, clapping me on the shoulder, nearly sending me sprawling.

I looked at Dad. He was downcast... But accepting. He didn't like it, but this time... We were parting on our own terms. And I was promising that I would come back this time."

"I'm sorry. I'm really, very sorry," I said, and he pushed himself up, and stomped over to me. My gut still screamed at me to run and hide, but I stood my ground this time.

I found myself pressed into Dad's chest, his huge arms crushing me like a nut in a nutcracker. I groaned as he squeezed my wings and aggravated the raw flesh of my back, so he released me.

Stumbling a few steps backwards, I opened my wings a bit to get feeling back in them.

"I promise, Dad. I will come home. Eventually. But," I swallowed hard. "I'm not quite ready."

He nodded, and there was a twisting sensation in my gut. Why was I still afraid of him? It baffled me.

But the angry, burning feeling in my stomach was there, gnawing at me.

An hour later, Astrid and I came out, each with a bag of my things in hand, both of them red.

Then I noticed a bright blue bag slung over her shoulder. "What's that for?" I asked.

"Mine. I asked Gobber if I could stay with you for a bit. Seeing as how I'm safest around you."

I looked at her wide eyed. "Y-your staying with me?!"

She nodded. "Until your ready to go home."

Then she hit me in the shoulder with her bag. "Go on then, Shorty. Fly on back to your workshop. I'll catch up with you on my bike."

I nodded, and as the transformation rippled across me, I noticed her kind, caring smile didn't leave me the entire process.

I warbled at her and butted her arm with my head, motioning to the shack in the far distance. "a Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."

I leapt off the ground with a beat of my wings, hauling myself into the air.

I couldn't go home yet, but I wasn't alone. I'm not the only guardian in this story.

I guess if I was her Guardian Night Fury, she was my Guardian Astrid.

**I'm both satisfied and a bit concerned with the outcome of this. How was it, do you think?**

**But before we go, I have one last thing to say. **

**4 chapters left. **

**4 chapters, in which all will be revealed. **

**Because I'm cruel, I'm giving you a little teaser trailer to infuriate you. And I'm not even certain when I will be writing next, with the tests coming up. **

**SCENES FROM THE FINAL FOUR CHAPTERS OF GUARDIAN NIGHT FURY:**

**"I'm sorry, Astrid. I really am. Really, very sorry... But..." **

* * *

><p><strong>"Lists of failed experiments? What the heck?" I leaned in close to the monitor, peering at the images before me. <strong>

* * *

><p><strong><em>"NIGHT FURRYYYYY!<em>" Dagur screamed, diving and firing multiple consecutive blasts at me.**

* * *

><p><strong>I kneeled down in the water, their scaly shapes moving to surround me. <em>"You serve and serve and serve,"<em> one of them said, _"but she will never come back for you when this is over. You will be left behind to rot in the dust, while she moves on with the other humans. Let us take her, and she will have no choice, but to stay at your side forever." _I looked up at them._ "Really,"_ I moaned hopefully.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>I ducked into one of the vents, sliding down it. Alvin roared behind me, trying to force his way through. <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>I was barely out running the fire. Astrid moaned on my back, and aI fought for consciousness against the toxic fumes around us. <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>"No! Nonononononononononono NO!"<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>"So, your the Up Top around here, eh? Can you at least tell me your name before we get started?" <strong>

**That earned me a smirk. **

**"My personal name is irrelevant. Look at you, how ashamed of himself Stoick must be to have a son like you." I seethed quietly. **

**"Just answer the question."**

** "Fine, you may call me-"**

* * *

><p><strong>HAVE AN INSANELY EPIC WHATEVER-POINT-IN-TIME-YOU-READ-THIS!<strong>

**-The Rumbling Night Cutter. **


	10. Malm-þing, Part One

**Ok, here we go, here we go. The final four chapters of Guardian Night Fury. But don't be sad, there's going to be a sequel! But as this plot begins to close, could you all comment your favorite parts of the story, as well as what was so good at them. If your wondering, the title is Norse for Battle, or the meeting of weapons. My goal is that, everything before this was like episodes in a TV show. This is gonna be part 1 of the big finishing movie!**

**One personal point. LATIN CLASS IS EVIL! Ok, now I got that off my chest. Also, geometry is despicable.**

**Also, there will be a list of dragons in here that most of you will not recognize. THEY ARE NOR OC DRAGONS, they are the new dragons in the game "Rise of Berk." Look them up, please, because I don't think I described them very well. **

**Review replies:**

**JediknightMarina: I'm glad**

**Mikowmer: I'm evil. Very evil. That's why. Also, I could have been lying that I lie, therefore promising that Astrid will stay human. Paradox! Maybe. But you might just have your answer this chapter. **

**Silverwolves: sorry, no Snot-smashing until The Lonely Guardian. _  
><em>**

**Foxmongroth: Bear with it buddy. Stoick and Hiccup will get along. Eventually. But that won't be for a while now. I just ask you to stick with it. Their relationship will get better. **

**jlrdsr: very funny. But thanks for the compliment. **

**Halobeast-thank you for all your reviews. It means a lot. **

**All of you followers, favoriters, and general enthusiastic readers, thanks for coming in and reading, what's basically someone rambling about how much they enjoy think dragons are epic. **

**Oooooooookkkkkk. My mission: to break 7k+ words each for the next four chapters.**

**Do I choose to accept it?**

**Yes I do. Wish me luck! RAAHHHHHHH! **

**Also, I really want to do Not One Of Us, but the voters don't seem to agree. PM me if you want to see that story. **

**I LOVED WRITING THIS CHAPTER, SO EXCITING!**

Malm-þing, Part 1

The Offspring of Lightning and Death itself.

**_Astrid_**

I settled in to living with Hiccup quite well. He brought in another cot for me, and handed over most of his blankets to me.

"I really don't need them," he had insisted when I tried to shove them back. "I'm half fire breathing lizard remember? I can heat myself up if I get too cold."

Begrudgingly, I'd nodded and began to set up my living space in the underground cove. It was actually quite peaceful to sleep there, knowing aI was safe and hidden away, with one of the most powerful creatures in existence merely ten feet away and firmly on my side.

He made rhythmic, loud rumbling sounds when he slept. Oddly, rather than keep me awake, the sounds had lulled me to sleep, like a loud unconscious lullaby. His hypnotic snores were probably keeping even himself asleep.

Probably the _only_ thing keeping him that way, kid was so hyperactive. He couldn't stay still if you froze him solid.

I went about my normal schedule, with a few changes.

Every day I would wake up and have breakfast with Hiccup and the little ones while the Dragon Boy put something on TV. It was almost a normal scene, if your didn't count that my company had scales and wings and fire-producing organs. Mergh, my life is so messed up.

Hiccup refused to tell me where he had gotten the food, but he always looked a little guilty about it, preferring to just go dragon so he'd have an excuse not to answer and burying his nose in his food, grumbling quietly.

Most mornings, I'd have to wake him up by tipping his cot into the water of his little spring.

It was funny the first few times, until he had started expecting that. One morning, as the cot began to tip, he had wrapped his tail around my waist and pulled me down with him, soaking us both.

The next part of the schedule was going to school. Instead of riding with Gobber, Hiccup flew me to school, making sure I was good and alert for the day with a few spine tingling arial maneuvers.

Most of the school days were long and boring, except for when I could see Hiccup sneaking about in ether form, looking for something to do. The most interesting was when I found him hanging from the ceiling in the gym by his tail, letting of little plasma blasts to screw with the kids below.

After school, he would wait for me outside the building where he had knocked out Ruff and Tuff, and he would take me wherever I asked, waiting outside patiently wherever she desired to be.

Though sometimes I did see him droop a bit, like he was still depressed about the way he and his Dad had met back up.

At nights, we would simply stay in and enjoy each other's company.

I had never had a friend like him before. He never failed to be there for me, and, I swore, when the time came that he needed me, I would most certainly be there for him.

I loved my new life with Hiccup, but I hated watching my back. It was tiresome, scary, and constant.

One week. I had seven attacks.

Seven attacks. Seven attacks _in one_ _week. _

Luckily they were just people, no more titanic battles to give Hiccup an agonizing injury and keep him grounded for a while.

But still, they weren't getting the hint that grunts like them fall like dominos before the power of the Night Fury, and he hadn't even fired.

It was actually getting a bit boring. They grab me, drag me around, then get beaten down by my big friend. Same routine every time. I was actually a little insulted now.

I actually think Hiccup got a bit bored too. On the fifth attack one week, after he smashed one of my would-be kidnappers into the ground, he'd actually yawned and stretched lazily with his wings, batting another attacker aside with his tail.

After a few weeks, our routine felt comfortable and natural, except for the fighting kidnappers bit.

Well, as natural as it could be, with what both of us were and everything.

But with me spending frequent afternoons with Gobber, and the rest with Hiccup, my left felt... Well, _right_ for a change. I felt like I belonged. My routine with Hiccup had become solid, dependable. Something I wanted to continue to have happen for years.

But there was one thing that I loved about my new life more than anything. And I did it with Hiccup as often as I could. It was so good, I started to expect I couldn't live without. If he stopped letting me, I might just die of withdrawal from it.

Flying.

It had been... awkward at first. Technically, I was riding him, but I refused to use that term. He suggested I think of it as a piggyback-ride, but that didn't help a lot. Finally, I just decided to stop thinking about it all together, as it really wasn't helping anything.

After I had done that, I found the whole thing to be rather amazing! More than amazing, fantastic!

It was excellent! I envied Hiccup for being the one with wings. He was free to go where he wanted when he wanted. And he was willing to show it all to me! The day flights were beautiful, but the night flights were _gorgeous. _

I got the hang of it quickly.

But not without some complications.

After a few free falls, I convinced Hiccup to make something to help me hold on and sit better. It took quite a while, and lots of flustered protests from the dragon boy.

I had to threaten, plead, sweet talk, _and _guilt trip him before he finally agreed.

With quite a red face and a lot of indignant mutters, he made himself a saddle for me to use. It was ovular and curved a bit like a horse saddle, but smaller and flatter, made of overlapping layers of black dyed leather, with handles on the front that moved with my arms to help me hold on. They attached to him by straps on his legs and chest that he could detach with a single tap with his claw.

He had presented it to me with a scowl, not willing to look me in the eye.

He got over his pride, though, once he saw how much more easily I could stay on and how much fancier his flying could get with the thing in use. I guess making sure I was all right was more than enough to make him happy.

The thought is both insulting and endearing.

But anyway, the saddle worked out beautifully. That's when we started flying every morning and every night.

Over a period of two months of living together, I became addicted to it. The feel of the clouds on my face, the wind in my hair. The rush of adrenaline when we dived. When I was up there with him, I felt truly alive.

I didn't even feel the cold up there... I just felt free. And closer than ever to Hiccup, the best friend I could ever have, ever.

I could have lived the rest of my life this way. I really could. I loved it. But it was not gonna work out that way. Not by a long shot. Because one day, my life, and Hiccup's, changed drastically.

* * *

><p>I opened my eyes and threw off the covers in excitement sending the insolent Sharpshot flying. The iguana with wings had been sleeping on top of me, the twit.<p>

The undersized dragon was buried in the mountain of blankets, while I rushed over to Hiccup. He wasn't in his cot, but sleeping bat style on one of his ceiling hung machines, his wings folded over his head. How he did that without getting a massive headache defies all physics.

I picked up one of his wrenches and threw it at him with an expert arm, granted from a two year interest in baseball and a competitive nature more fearsome than a pissed off Night Fury.

The tool collided with his exposed auburn fluffy air. "OW!" He yelled and from his hanging place. Unfortunately, the poor boy landed on his already throbbing skull. "Ow!"

I couldn't hold back snickers at his expression. It was more of shock then pain, as he could probably take a battering ram to the face without breaking his skull. He's only durable where it counts, though, as the heavily layered punishment bruise on his arm showed off.

"Can I go back to sleep?" He asked, not bothering to rise yet.

"Do you want to get punched in the face," I said sweetly.

He groaned and rubbed his eyes, flicking his tail in annoyance. "Well good morning, Miss Bossy." He got up and popped his neck, arms folded behind his head and streaching his back like a cat. He glared at me mid stretch at me, remarking, "Really?"

"What," I said innocently. "It was Sharpshot!"

Hiccup's face spoke volumes about his lack of faith in my sincerity. "I would almost belive you, if his angry smoke rings weren't coming out if your blankets."

I just gave him playful sneer. The dragon boy rubbed his head. "A wrench?"

I nodded.

"Really? Come on, you couldn't use, like, that, ball of rubber bands I keep like, five feet from where your standing?" He rubbed the spot where he had been hit, with a mixture of bewilderment and agitation.

I grinned and shook my head, "Too easy."

He just rubbed his head and sighed, defeated.

I ran eagerly to the hook where his saddle hung, and on the wall. "Come on, let's go! There's a storm rolling in later, so we've got to go?"

The dragon boy was skeptical, however, and asked, "When's 'later'?"

I but my lip, not wanting to admit it. "1 o'clock."

He glanced the clock above the TV. Eight in the morning.

He shot a famous deadpan glare my way. "Do you always have to wake me up so early in the morning to go flying?"

"Absolutely," I smirked and pulled him by the arm to the door.

* * *

><p>"WHOOOOOOOOOOO," I yelled, elation coating the cry as it echoed through the air. I clutched the handles of the saddle tightly as we skimmed the water, seaspray flying behind us as we went at breakneck speed. How that didn't <em>actually break my neck<em> is beyond me.

We hurtled over the sea as a blur. I laid on my belly legs hugging his spines. We flew under a sea stack, his wing tips barely grazing the rocks.

Hiccup pumped his wings carrying us higher and higher with each wingbeat.

With an elated roar he steadily climbed, closer to the clouds. I pulled my legs forward, slipping them into the straps at his sides.

A cold shock practically slapped me in the face as we broke the clouds, leaving a hole in them as we went through.

I. Loved. It!

He went into a barrel roll, and I shrieked with happiness. This was the best, flying! We spent hours like this, ripping through the air like gravity didn't exist for us.

When we stopped spinning, he let us fall backwards, tumbling head over tail for nearly one hundred feet, before he snapped his wings open and sailed the sky, parting the clouds with the force of his flight.

Letting off a happy plasma blast he roared, a sound filled with elation. I laughed and rubbed his head, extracting a happy warble from my friend.

I knew, no matter what, Hiccup would always be a part of my life. I couldn't give up our friendship anymore than I could my own leg.

Actually, I think the leg would be easier to get rid of. Nearly half a year now, since he had saved me from that fire. And in that time we had formed some indescribable bond that aI sure as heck knew couldn't be broken by anyone.

Our flying calmed down a little, to the point where we could just talk. Well, the conversation was verbally one sided, but I had gotten pretty good as guessing Hiccup's main point.

"Soooooo," I said, trying to think of something to talk about. He just twitched his ear to show that he was listening.

I traced the scar on his shoulder that was courtesy of Dagur's claws. "You get anymore scars recently? Any new dragons while I'm at school. Eel incidents, maybe?" I smirked at the last one, and he made a dragon-y grumble of annoyance.

_Other than the head truama you gave me this morning? And I thought we were never mentioning eels again! _I imagined him saying.

"Your a big baby, you know that," I said teasingly. He began to glide diagonally, lazily continuing forward at a sleepy pace. I crouched lower, the areniline of flight ebbing from my veins. We had been flying for hours how.

Suddenly began to cramp, searing my legs. I groaned in pain, and gripped the handles of the saddle and slid out of the straps, planting my toes on his scales. "Level out, ok bud?"

He barked his consent and evened his wings, spreading them to his full potential and going into a elongated glide. I pushed myself up and stretched my legs standing straight up behind the saddle.

My latest trick with Hiccup- taking a walk 5,000 feet above the ground.

We had practiced it for two reasons: one, it could be a useful trick, being able to defend from everywhere if we were am used on our flights, and two, sometimes my leg muscles would stiffen when we flew for too long, so I needed to walk about, often when I didn't want to go back to the ground.

I turned on my heel and began to walk across his narrow back. Even as a dragon, he didn't have much surface area. He tried not to wiggle, but heard some of his bones pop as I strode.

"You ok?" I called, and he gave a positive roar that told me that he was fine. I was barely one hundred pounds anyway, he probably barely even felt my weight.

I waved my feet around his triangular spines. Supporting myself with a hand on the largest one.

"You know, Hiccup," I called as I began to walk across his tail like a tight rope.

The was awesome! Never tried walking the tail before, but he didn't bend under me. The limb stayed as straight as a bored and I tiptoed down in, arms out to the sides.

"I've been thinking. What do you think about traveling? After I get out of school, I mean. We can just fly away, leave N.E.S.T. Behind. So many places we could go."

My boots were now planted between his tail fins. If he so much as twitched, I would invent the sport of Dragon-Diving without a parachute.

Yes, I know. We're idiots. "You could finally see Norway. I could go to Athens. It'll be great."

I twisted and looked at Hiccup. His ear flaps were twitching in thought, and he gave a natural roar. Obviously he was quite passive about the idea.

"Come on!" I complained and trekked back to the main body. "It wold be fun!"

A mocking growl that closely resembled my own words was his answer, and I kicked a spine. He snarled, and shook his shoulders. Good thing I was a bit further back. I poked the edge of his wing, testing to see it would give way.

It was like stepping on a trampoline, kind of givey, but reliable. He seemed not to take the shift in weight too badly, so I started to walk across his right wing.

It made me nervous, walking on the wing membrane. Like walking on a balloon. It looked so thin, like I might rip through it and fall, dooming us both, so I jumped forward and perched on one of his wing fingers.

Going back to our argument, I turned pulled out my best weapon to get him to admit he liked the idea too. I gave him my puppy dog eyes, and the onyx sometimed-reptile flinched, trying to turn away.

But he couldn't No mater how hard he tried, he always ended up glancing at my pretty blues and giving in pathetically, just like... Oh, just like I did when he used the emerald version on me.

Damn, we both had equal firepower in the field of puppy dog eyes. Had to do something about that later.

I hopped to the next wing finger, and he grumbled in annoyance as he tilted. My high altitude walks always made him nervous and irritated. Literally any movement. I made annoyed him.

So, it's really his fault for giving me the opportunity. Who wouldn't take it?!

He growled at me and, grudgingly, with a scale-covered scowl, he nodded.

I KNEW IT, he wanted to explore as much as I did!

"What's wrong buddy?" I asked. "Whatcha want to stay here for?"

He rolled his eyes at me, and I strode along the edge of the wing, marveling that he didn't tip over. That thought in mind, I sped up a little, not willing to test my luck with the phenomenon.

He shook his head as I climbed back into the saddle, the cramps in my legs long gone. I slipped my legs back into the straps. Hiccup dipped his wing into a cloud to trail in trough it.

"You'd miss it here , wouldn't you?"

He shook his head, snorting.

"Then what is it?"

Whatever it was must have been depressing, as he mumbled quietly and pointed his head down. He flapped his wings once carrying us a bit.

The storm rumbled in the distance. I had a bad feeling about it. "Buddy, can we go home now? I- I think I'm done with flying right now."

He made a noise of shock and twisted to look at me. I smiled stiffly and hugged his head. "It's ok, buddy. I think I'm coming down with something. Besides, you should be eager to go back. Take off the saddle, right?"

At that he rumbled agreeably. He despised the saddle more than he despised N.E.S.T.

* * *

><p>I probably <em>was <em>coming down with something.

I was curled up on the couch while Hiccup, human Hiccup, was asleep in his cot. A film played in front of me.

It was the really old movie, Frankenstein. Even though the acting and special effects were laughable, I couldn't help but notice how it basically personified Hiccup's worst fear.

The reason why he was afraid if people. I looked at my Dragon Boy, sound asleep in the blankets, his wings rising and falling with eac-

Hold on a second, did I just call him mine? No, nonono, he's not _mine, _I'm not_ interested _in him that way... Ok, maybe a little?

Argh, my head's messed up.

I plopped against the sofa cushions, staring at the chain laden ceiling. A bad feeling still broiled in my belly. And now I felt like there was a hot iron being pressed into my skull.

"Arrrrgghhhhhh," I moaned as it thundered outside. I pressed a hand to my forehead. I felt like there was some smash-happy little guy banging the insides of my skull from all angles.

Now I was 90% sure I was coming down with ears pounded, and I felt like my ribs were made of led. Gahhhhh, what was wrong with me?!

_"Soon." _

I nearly jumped, but I felt too awful. I groaned and pushed myself up, brushing my bangs out of my eye. There was no one here but Hiccup and the little ones. The voice... Wasn't substantial. Like, when your remembering someone's words specifically. The sound's not _quite_ real. But this voice... I'd never heard it. I couldn't even begin to describe it.

_"Your almost ready. Your almost home. Aaaassssttttrrrrrriiiiiddddd."_

Ok, that was seriously creepy.

The hot iron in my skull pressed even deeper. It was horrible. I needed to get rid of it! Now!

Where did Shorty keep the medicine? so I shook my head and I deftly grabbed for something to get his attention without getting up.

My fingers found one of the Dragon Boy slob's machine parts, and I chucked it at him, the part hitting his wing with a dull clang, then bounding to the ground. "Asssthhrid," he groaned, sleep slurring his speech. His hair was suck around at odd angles, and only his left war stuck up, the right one drooping lazily.

"Hiccup, wh-where's the medic-medicine," I bit my lip and groaned. This damn pain was making me stutter like an idiot!

"Why?"

"I told you you moron. I'm coming down with something. My head feels like someone's trying to pry inside."

_"We are," _the creepy voice said_. "Were almost here. It's your time Astrid. Your time..."_

I knocked my forehead with my hand. "Ow."

He pointed me to the big cabinet that held our medical stuff as thunder crashed outside. Hiccup jumped a bi. Eyes going reptilian and teeth pointed. He growled for a few moments, before his face returned to normal.

"I hate lighting storms," Hiccup muttered, and I moaned as I fumbled with the cap, not bothering with the obvious chance to pull the "big baby," tease on him. This did not go unnoticed.

"Wow," Hiccup said, his face pinching in concern, "your really out of it if you passed up a chance to insult me."

I punched his shoulder halfheartedly and slumped. Whatever it was wreaking havoc on my system was really bad, and Hiccup patted my shoulder sympathetically, taking the bottle from my hands and opening it.

I gulped it down with a glass of water, grimacing as it slid down my throat.

"You need anything else, 'Strid?"

I shook my head and stumbled backwards. He opened his left wing to catch me in the crook of the wing.

"Ok," he said, guiding me to my cot. "Doctor Harrison in the underground cove. Tell me the symptoms."

I kicked his metal leg irritably, wanting to be left alone while I felt like crap. He shook his head and pressed me back into the sleeping area. "What are you-"

"You won't tell me what's wrong," he explained, "and the only treatment I can suggest if you won't is sleep."

"But-"

"Sleep."

"I won't-"

"Sleep."

"Hiccup-"

"I'll go Night Fury and sit on you!"

I sighed as my head pounded like a drumbeat. Each one seemed to swell and deflate my brain. I whined a little as a dragging sensation ran over my head, and Hiccup whirled around to look at me.

He was the one who whined between us. He whined as a dragon. He whined as a human. He was not hesitant to express any and all pain.

But I. Never. Whined.

"Astrid," he said worriedly. "Strid, please, I'm begging you, you have to tell me what's wrong." He knelt in front of me, a worried expression on his face. I... Reacted badly to his presence. I don't like punching him that much anymore, but it's a habit developed for most of my life.

And my head was jacked up

I punched him in the head, this time with full enthusiasm. The Dragon Boy rolled backwards, and my fingers throbbed.

"HICCUP," I yelled, clutching my hand. "What is your skull made of, steel?"

To my shock, he actually had to ponder it for a moment, and rapped the side of his head with a fist. "Doesn't appear to be, but who knows what they did to me in there?"

I nodded. His past was not a sore subject between them. He could talk about it openly not that he really did, but it was to a point where the subject didn't cause tension.

I nursed my hand a bit, and he pressed me to sleep. It didnt think I could with my head feeling like it was bring impaled.

Suddenly the pain in my head faded quietly, like a noise going silent. I stopped protesting as Hiccup tried to get me to go to sleep. For some reason, I was tried. Really... Really,,, tired.

* * *

><p>My head felt weird the next day. I don't know how to explain it, just, weird.<p>

But my mouth tasted like lint, that's for sure. And my whole body ached, like I had been drained of all fluid. I was cold and clammy. And...I wasn't in my cot. That was... Weird. I blinked my eyes open wearily, groaning.

I was laying with my face on one of Hiccup's desks. My skin was pale and sweaty, cheek sticky on the wood. I grimaced and pushed myself up. My hand brushed a pencil as I did. Weakly glancing at it, my breath hitched in my throat.

Drawings were strewn all around me, on paper, carved into the desk, on Hiccup's old blueprints. My reptilian roommate would not be happy... If I could remember what had ha..."

I looked around at my surroundings. The comforting dull glow of the industrial lights, the air of protective sturdiness, and the comforting hum of my draconic friends was _not _what greeted me.

I was in a cold hospital room. Or, at least, it looked like one. Bright white lights were fixated in the ceiling which was made of flawless tile. A standard hospital bed was behind me, messed up. IV's and a heart monitor stood ominously in the background, the shadows on the ground like monsters in the night.

I was really groggy, like I had barely any sleep in days. Or weeks. Or months. My attention turned back to the drawings, and my blood froze.

They were dragons. Dragons of all variety. And for some reason, the charcoal depictions of the reptiles terrified me to the core.

Goncicle, Shivertooth, Wooly Howl, Serreatooth, Submaripper, Sword Stealer, Thunderpede, Grapple Grounder. The list went on and on and on and on. But the most prominent was unnamed.

Staring right out at me was a very beautiful dragon. She had a well built, sturdy avian body and a long muscled tail, all held up by a pair of strong legs with enormous claws.

She had a pair of large wings folded at her sides, a, and a large head shaped like a bird's beak. A long row of jagged teeth and curved fangs, all that looked like they could rip a person apart in seconds.

A long horn adorned her nose, and she had an elegant crown if spikes were situated behind large, intelligent eyes and thin pupils. She was in an attack position, crouched low and mouth open, as if trying to intimidate the viewer.

It worked.

I pushed myself away from the desks with a shaky breath. I realized I wasn't wearing my usual clothes. I was in a hospital gown and scrub pants, with my feet bare against the freezing tile. I was extremely pale and my bones popped as I moved.

This was not good. This was really not good. Fear began to flood me.

What happened when I was out. Something about this place was wrong. Very wrong. The air itself seemed to press on my skin, suffocating me.

Trying to swallow my fear, I padded to the door. Maybe Hic was messing with me. This was some cruel joke, it had to be. He definitely earned a punch for this one. Especially for changing my clothes, perv.

The door was locked, tight. "Hiccup?" I called, "Come on, Hiccup, let me out." I rattled the door handle. "HICCUP!"

Someone unlocked it from the other side. A short, older woman with red hair and a gaze that could make Hiccup freeze in fear. She wore a grayish blue coat over a huge, pouring dress the exact same color. Her red hair was tied into a bun, and her face was sharp, with a strong jaw for a woman and cheekbones that looked sharper than Hiccup's Night Fury teeth. Her lips were two scarlet lines under pointed nose, and frown wrinkled marked the skin surrounding her mouth.

"Hello," she said in a sickly sweet voice. It was rough and gravely. Full of manipulation and secrets. She wore a locket around her neck, with the picture of a large man with a copious amount of dreadlocks and no left arm inside.

I slammed the door and turned the lock, freaking out now. That most certainly was NOT my Hiccup! No, not at all, nonono!

Where was Hiccup? Where was the Workshop? A wave of panic filled me, taking my mind. All rational thought left me.

_Help me, _I thought_, I don't know where I am. I don't know where I am. Somebody, just tell me where I am. Where's Hiccup? Where's my Hiccup? Where's home, where's Gobber, where AM I? _

I backed away from the desk in a panic, breathing heavy. My heart felt like it was drilling a hole in my chest, threatening to break my skin and burst free of my body.

I stumbled backwards into a wall, and my hand brushed over a logo. I took in a raggedy breath, and jumped away from the wall, trembling from head to toe as I looked upon the logo.

In front of me, sculpted in large red and blue letters protruding from the wall, were four letters. Four letters that had haunted me for months. Four letters I learned to dread.

N.E.S.T.

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>Hiccup<span>**_

My eyes snapped open. My face was halfway deep in water, so I quickly pushed myself up, wiping off my face as I did. What had happened? My leg was compleatly blown out, the battery decimated.

I hobbled to a shelf and replaced it with the spare, this one an I painted silver. I tosssed the useless machine in a bucket labeled "repair," and surveyed the situation.

The Workshop was completely trashed.

Claw marks were cut in the walls, my desks overturned. Pieces of machinery were scattered everywhere, half in half out of the water. The framework plane was cut from it suspensions, and half melted.

I stared at it. The thing had been a pet project since I was eight. No matter if I had a pair of flesh and blood wings now, that thing had always be a part of my life. But it was beyond repair now.

The water under had red flowing through it, and felt warm around my ankles. My stomach twisted into a knot.

"Oh, no," I knelt down, the water splashing as my legs entered it. I looked at the twisted metal/fiberglass wreck, searching for anyone underneath. My breath caught as I saw Sharpshot and Veil. Sharpshot's wing was pinned underneath a piece of the frame, the source of the plane, Veil hovering protectively over her older brother. He was a bloody green mess in the water, and his breathing wasn't very steady.

I went Night Fury and pushed the wreck up, the metal creaking and groaning, sharp edges digging into my head as I flipped it over, into the now filthy spring. It splashed loudly as Sharpshot's fully wounded form came into view. He was similar to the victim of a car accident. I won't describe it, it was just... Too much flesh... Too much blood... Too much _bone!_

**"Hiccup" **Veil gasped, and swam over to me.** "Ohhhhh man, I thought ypu were dead. They-they-"**

**"I'm fine Veil****, where's Nightmare? I can't seem to smell her."**

The tiny reptile did not answer, but the shiver that ran along his spine gave me enough of an explanation.

**"I'm so sorry."**

She let out a choked sob and nodded.

**"Listen, sweetheart, I'm sad too. But we can mourn her when the remaining four of us are accounted for. There's-" **I choked out a sob as the grief actually hit me. Nightmare was given her name as a misnomer. She was the sweetest thing in existence, even is she never got the hang of dragonese. **  
><strong>

Innocent little Nightmare. She was going to be six years old tomorrow. She had just gotten a grip on how to say "Toothless," in dragonese and had been spouting it for three days.

Oh man.

Oh man.

Oh, hell no!

Drawing in a shaky breath, I held back tears. Veil couldn't see me cry right now. Then she would cry, thinking it was an ok time to do and we would loose valuable time saving Sharpshot's life. It wasn't an ok time for tears. Weep later, fix now, that was my policy.

I changed back to human and picked up the bleeding little one in my arms.

I won't go into detail, but there was a lot of blood. He died twice, we had to restart his heart with electrical wires. It was a crude and life threatening method, but somehow it worked. We did the best we could, stabilizing his health. When we were done, I gently carried him to his bedding niche and tucked him inside, safe from harm.

Then I noticed Astrid was missing. Her cot was empty, and I didn't smell her anywhere inside.

I fluttered me wings in agitation. "Veil," she looked at me, half out of her mind and shaking like a leaf. Poor little thing had just lost her sister and seen her brother lying wide open on a makeshift surgery table.

I picked her up and cradled her. "Veil," I said soothingly, rubbing her back between the wings. "Sweetheart, please, I know your scared right now. You shouldn't have had to see that, and I'm sorry, but there's something I need you to do, honey."

She nodded, and I pulled her close to my chest. "Remember how I said your smoke can have some effects on the mind?"

Another nod.

"Well, heres hoping one of them is regaining short term memory." I sucked air in through my nose and looked at her out of the corner of my eye, still rocking her in my arms.

She looked at me, and I nodded. She drew a deep breath in, and puffed smoke in my face. All went black, with the cool scent of metal in my nose.

* * *

><p>I watched as Astrid curled up, asleep, then hobbled forward to kneel beside her. Then I said the words I would never have the courage to say when she was awake.<p>

"I really wish you would tell me, Milady. I love you." Kissing her forehead, I went to fly to my cot, when she mumbled in her sleep.

"Skrill."

I went ridged. Whirring around, I faced her. "What?"

She wriggled in her blankets and hugged her pillow, scowling in distaste. "Gronckle. Zippleback. Monstrous Nightmare. Terrible Terror. Deadly Nadder. Thunderdrum. Typhoomerang. Scauldron. Night Fury."

I rushed to her. "Milady? Milady, get up, get up, please. Don't do that, do anything but that! I'm begging you! Just don't!" No matter now hard. I shook, she wouldn't open her eyes.

"Don't think about dragons Babe. Don't do it!" My chest was full of fear. "This is what happened to me! If your getting your head filled with their ranks, they're homing in on you! They can track you, they can find you. Wake up, now, night flight, you love those, please Astrid. Wake up. Wake up now! I'm begging you now, WAKE-"

BOOM!

The doors shook. I whipped my head around. Astrid moaned in her sleep and snuggled deeper into her blankets, looking agitated. Sharpshot, Veil and Nigtmare crawled out of their niches to join me. The water sprinklers started to go off as smoke curled from the doorway. Veil's smoke was special, it didn't set them off.

Whatever was on the other side of the doorway could. The door rattled again, and I kept shaking.

"Astrid, please."

No response. I screamed in frustration, grabbing fistfuls of my own hair and pulling on them.

"ARGGH! NO! Not her! No more, I swear to you no more!" I said.

I the water from the sprinklers pooled around my feet as I pushed her cot to my back room. It was hidden behind a rock ridge so well you had to know it was there to find it.

After she was safely inside, the room shook again, and the shock waves caused rocks to fall from the ceiling. They were huge, the size of boulders, and smashed the desks and knocked machines over. One fell in front of my back room, and blocked off the entrance. Good. Should buy her some chances of survival.

Nightmare had vanished, but Sharpshot and Veil stood behind me.

"Both of you," I commanded, looking at them. "Leave. Now."

They shook their heads. Two stubborn idiots.

"That's not a request, kids, it's an order!"

Sharpshot roared indignantl, but I threw up a hand to stop him. "For once in your lives, please just do as I say, not as I do." My tone was filled with deadly seriousness.

I looked at the pair, willing them to do as I said. "Please, find your sister and go! I'm not gonna let you die, use your tunnel in the back room. Drag Astrid as far away as you can, quick as you can."

The door began to shake again. This time I saw electricity curl from the cracks in the wood.

Dagur?!

Oh no.

"Guys," I pleaded to them. "I'll be fi-gaahhhhhh!" The electricity went into the water and snaked up my artificial leg and stump. It was excruciating, but I tried to shove the pain down, focusing on pleasent thought's.

Astrid's beaming face after flying.

Veil's excited chatter.

Nightmare's enthusiasm.

Sharpshot's humor.

I clutched my leg, a stream of smoke curling off of it. It had gone dead, the battery shorting out, and my vision clouded with pain. The still going sprinklers flung water in my eyes so I had to blink them out.

"GO!" I commanded, and they cowed a little from the underplaying Night Fury roar.

Letting the transformation take over me, I planted my now flesh and blood leg in the water and fell to all fours.

**"Hiccup, you can't seriously believe we would lea-"**

**"ENOUGH!"** I roared.** "I love you like your my children! And like children, right now, more than ever, DO AS YOUR TOLD!"**

As Hiccup, it wouldn't have sounded so impressive. As a Night Fury, it would make even the most fearless of men tremble before me. The little ones were convinced and dartrd into the cracks in the walls-their little escape routs.

I snarled, and faced the door. It was on the breaking point now. Streams of electricity curled off it and into me. I flinched, but bit my tongue to keep focus.

_Astrid, think of her. Think of how much you can't allow this to happen to her or anyone else!_

Aselectricity curled over my neck, my head shook rapidly, and I roared quietly, flapping my wings a little to dispel the pain.

It got worse and worse with each bang on the door, until electricity curled up my spies. They opened reflexively and I screamed, letting loose an involuntary plasma blast It exploded against the rood, causing the room to come even closer to collapse.

The door burst open, and K couldn't take it anymore. I roared in pain and collapsed into the water.

Six dragons flooded the room, electricity curling off their bodies. They all here amphibious looking, thick bodied with short,nothin legs and large wings. They had fins on their necks and along their tails, and were bright sea green. Their chins had structures like angler fish lights, and they had huge rectangular heads.

The Shokjaws. They were in my notebook, but how.

They surrounded me as I kneeled in the water, their scaly shapes moving to surround me. **"You serve and serve and serve," **one of them said, _"_**but she will never come back for you when this is over. She will never love you as you do her. You will be left behind to rot in the dust, while she moves on with the other humans. Forgotten forever from her heart. Let us take her, and she will have no choice, but to stay at your side forever."**I looked up at them. They didn't expect me to hand her over, did they.

Well...

As much as I hated it, they made a good point. Still... But...

** "Really,"** I moaned hopefully.

**"Really," **the lead dragon said.

**"Then..."** I growled. **"YOUR IDIOTS!" **

I shook of the electricity- minor charges anyway. They were trying to scare me!

I smacked two away with my wings and I leapt towards the speaker, teeth unsheathed and claws prepared for battle!

He opened his mouth to shoot when something slammed me from the side.

It was enormous and dark red and black, and very very familiar.

The Monstrous Nightmare I had drawn, straight down to the barbels on his chin. He stomped the ground with his wings and roared at me.

**"NIGHT FURY!" **He roared.

Out of pure habit, I gave him a smartarse answer. **"I'M LISTENING!" **Unfortunately, I had some bad news- I had lied about the shocks. They ripped through my nerves, making them weak. My accelerated healing was already repairing, but it hurt like hell and made me wobbly.

The Nightmare growled at me, lava dripping from his mouth. Ew.

**"I've been meaning to get a crack at you!"**

**"So?" **I rolled my eyes and got to my paws.

The Nightmare sneered as I trembled from another aftershock. I winced in pain, and panted. I breathed in and out, trying to dull the pain.

**"Whats wrong? Too scared to face the wrath of a Monstrous Nightmare!?" **He boasted, his claws splashing in the water.

I growled at him, and he roared, his throat glowing with fire.

Awwwww maaaan. This was gonna hurt.

A mighty fountain of lava sprayed from his mouth, flooding into the room. I whined, still a bit paralyzed by the electricity, and folded my ear flaps down. The force of it knocked me backwards, and into a wall.

My own home was my worst enemy as the force of my impact dislodged a large boulder, felling it on my head.

And that's when I collapsed in the water, going back to human, everything going dark.

* * *

><p>I returned to the present, clutching Veil tightly. "You guys never left, did you sweetie?" I asked her, and she shook her head.<p>

Smiling sadly, I pet her head. "My little girl. My loyal little girl."

I kissed her forehead and put her on a surviving table. Walking over to the entrance or the room, I grabbed my trench-coat, slinging it over my shoulders in and looked at the shattered doors.

"I have to go. I'll bring her back. Keep an eye on your brother, and I promise, Nightmare will get a proper funeral later. I swear."

The little grey dragon looked at me with solemn yellow eyes, and I gave her a quick hug. "Hold down the forth right. Don't. Touch. Anything."

I slid my tail into a pocket in the interior, and Veil flapped over to Sharpshot. "Good girl." I said, and shoved a hat on my head to hide my ears.

She nodded at me as I clambered over the wooden shards to the tunnel leading to the surface.

"Hang on Astrid. I won't let it happen. I just won't!"

I clambered into the sunlight, and sniffed violently. The Shockjaws were easy to find. The smell of fish and ozone. Both things I knew well.

I started running, artificial leg not impeding me.

I dashed down the scent trial. I found my way into the main city. I ran down thestreets ignoring the stink of pollution. I slammed into people and pushed them out of the way. I even hopped over them and shoved them to the ground.

I couldn't slow down. I wouldn't slow down.

I had lost my relationship with my dad, my race, my whole world. They would NOT take my best friend form me.

The lights glinted above me, bright and shining as I ran. My lungs were in agony, but I didn't really care.

* * *

><p><strong><span><em>Astrid<em>**

I sat legs folded under me. We were in a peaceful garden, not unlike Hiccup's Dad's.

I was in front of the pool, looking at my reflection in the water. Man, I had long hair. It nearly reached down past my waist.

In my hospital attire and messy blond hair, I looked like the picture of innocence.

And something was wrong about that. I clenched my fists and twisted the hem of my hospital gown in them.

The woman from before was across the water, sitting as well, her prodigious skirt pooling around her.

"What's your name again, miss," I muttered, not taking my eyes off the water. It didn't seem quite right. There was something off about this whole situation. A kind of prickling on the back of my neck.

The N.E.S.T. goons guarded the door while the woman answered. "Excellinor. Excellinor Tretchres." She looked at me for a good long while, and I began to feel uncomfortable, goosebumps forming on my arms.

But what was that dam prickling in the back of her neck?

"So, dear. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am," I murmured.

"Then repeat it all to me."

I swallowed and said. "My name is Astrid Hofferson. My parents are alive and well. There are no such things as dragon, and Hiccup Haddock does not exist. I have been in a trauma induced coma."

BS!

She nodded. "Good. You'll be ready to start school again, don't worry."

"Yes ma'am."

Ma'am? Ma'am? Why was I calling her that? Why wasn't I fighting all these goons for doing thing to Hiccup.

But they didn't.

"Something's off here," I whispered as she left.

I know because... Well I don't know. They have inserted me with memories, given me a whole alternative life- but I could tell which one was real.

Because no one could fabricate how it felt to fly with Hiccup.

Thats why.

I knew.

"Come on, Hiccup, this is getting weird. Whatever your doing on your end, could you at least find a way to let me help?"

**LONGEST CHAPTER EVER! YEAHHHHHHHHHH DONE. WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?!**


	11. Malm-þing, Part 2

**THE RUMBLING NIGHT CUTTER HERE WITH THE NEXT CHAPTER! I LOVE THIS ONE!**

**I am such an action writer, you have no idea! I just can't seem to develop plot without putting in a big ol' fight in there! What's wrong with me?! I want this to be one of the stories that leaves its reader's obsessed for more! But you guys love my story, so I can't complain!**

**So, you guys liked the last chapter. Poor little ones. I am evil.**

**Review Replies:**

**Mikowmer: Yes, I am evil. But I PROMISE your theory will be answered this chapter. Even the evil do small good deeds. (smirk)**

**Halobeast: Nightmare... Poor, poor nightmare. She was mutated as a two year old. Her life is... Is... (Choked sob, takes off hat and bows head in respect) Poor Nightmare. As for what is happening with Astrid... Man... I am despicable. A horrible person. NO REGRETS!**

**Maksimillian: exactly**

**Silverwolves: no, Snotlout is still human, but the Nightmare has a significant role in this chapter. **

**supersandman86: Don't make Hiccup angry. You won't like Hiccup when he's angry. **

**PersnicKty: I don't know what you mean, what do you mean, messing with memory?**

**jlrdsr: finally someone who agrees with me. And good, I managed to surprise you. With what, exactly?**

**MUST!**

**BREAK!**

**7k!**

**MY FINGERS WILL BE SO SORE! BUT ITS WORTH IT!**

**YARHHHH!**

**HICCUP IS FURIOUS, AND ASTRID IS ANGRY! RUN FOR THE HILLS, ALL OF YOU!**

**_Hiccup_**

I ran through the streets, a mantra pounding through my skul.

Come on Astrid, come on Astrid! I'm not letting them have you, not now, not ever! No!

I resisted the urge to take flight in the sea of people. Under normal circumstances, I would be petrified out of my mind. So many people, if the large, long coat slipped, I was dead. Deader than dead. Or worse.

Yes, I really didn't want to die anymore. I wanted to live right now, to take Astrid flying again. To show her the sky every day and every night. To see her face when we were above the clouds.

To see her so happy because of me.

And I didn't want her to see all of the pain that followed. Hating the monster she saw on the mirror, putting a gun to your own head only to have something foreign and strange pull it away with your arm.

To develop into something that isn't you, something you don't _want_ to be part of you. A festering cancer inside your brain that you fight every second of every day not to let it control you.

I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It could drive you insane. I'd _did _drive me insane.

So I ignored my fear of people. I violently shoved a man out of my way, following the scent sweet, wonderful scent of Astrid, the strong trace of the Shockjaws, and the ashen smell of the Monstrous Nightmare.

My coat billowed around me as I ran, but kept my wings and tail hidden. I jumped over a bench, running across it, the artificial leg whirring at the rapid movement.

Ohhhhhhh how I hate N.E.S.T.

Dagur. I remembered him last night. Like a switch in my head or something. Some missing bits that didn't come back immediately had been slowly returning, and that came back a mere fifteen hours ago. I remembered how he used to work for them, or rather, the company they used to fund themselves, Dreki Clinic, as well as work as my assistant for

How ironic, a cult dedicated to wiping out the human race, running a line of hospitals and drugstores, as well as my assistant at the machinery company I worked for, making everything from large scale construction machines to the very prosthetic attached to him. Dagur had been insane from the start, but a good sort of insane, the funny sort. Then again, whenever I thought he was joking about something morbid, he did seem kinda serious.

Then, one night, the stress of his two jobs had just broken him. His dad was found dead in his house, him and his baby sister gone from their houses in the middle of the house. Just, gone. Nothing. Nada.

I guess I know what happened to him.

If Astrid ended up like him, their boss wouldn't live to tomorrow!

I pressed harder as I ran, looking for the place they had taken my best friend. Finally I made it out of the crowd, into an empty maze of streets where the only signs of life were the stray animals.

The scent now blazed like wildfire without interference. I mentally clung to Astrid's. She smelled like my workshop, and of the clouds she loved so much. But. I could smell emotions. She smelled like anger, like determination, like stubbornness. And like loneliness.

She was not ever going to be alone again, not if I could help it!

My lungs screamed for rest, finally overriding my will to run, and I leaned against a light post. Gulping down great swaths of air, I looked around, trying to hang onto the Shockjaws' and Astrid's scent. The Monstrous Nightmare must have parted ways with them because his smell led in a completely opposite direction.

Eventually my breathing swallowed, but my torso still burned like hot coals. Frustrated at how much time I was wasting, I bit my lip and pulled back my head, looking at thelight with a groan.

"Astrid," I whispered. "Where are you?"

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Astrid<span>_**

I padded through the "Hospital," staving off the fake memories. Everything here was false. For one thing, I hadn't seen any other patients. And Excellinor seemed to be the only one besides the goons, sorry, doctors. But the Doctor's acted way too soldier like for my opinion. They seemed intelligent, but their responses were to flat, to much like a soldier giving information to his commander.

The cold air bled through the thin fabrics covering my body. They hadn't been given any real clothes so I was still in my hospital attire. My bare feet were cold on the tile, and I missed the warm stone of Hiccup's workshop, or the fluffy carpet in Stoick's mansion.

The blinding white lights made everything... Shiny. Not quite real. Something was wrong with them.

I shuddered and kept going, my hair tickling my face. I didn't bother to braid it. The only real thing to do right now was to find a way out.

"Miss Hofferson?"

I whiled to find Excellenor behind me. Again, what was with the enormous skirt, was she insane or something? The thing was like a pre-revolutionary France ball gown.

"Yes miss," I answered. ARGH, again with the miss, what was wrong with me?

"Shouldn't you be in your room, dear?" Her tone was condecenting, as was the forward tilt of her head, and her freezing blue eyes glittered. They reminded very much of ice, even though they were a much darker blue. Almost like mine. They just seemed to make a prickling densation over my mind and heart, like frost was spreading over them.

I shook my head. "No miss," I said flatly. Thankfully I had the ability to lie through my teeth down like a pro. "The doctor recommended that I take a walk. I haven't been up and about in a while, and they said. I should stretch my legs a bit."

"Ah," she nodded, and I met her eyes coldly with my best intimidation stare. We held each other's looks.

I was in deep crap, but so help he I would _not _play damsel in distress, not as long as aI could help it. I would show this witch I was still fighting. That she hadn't pinned me down. I was finding a way out.

I trusted that Hiccup was looking for me, but I wasn't going to wait for him to rescue me.

"Miss Hofferson," another voice interrupted, and we both snapped our gazes away. A doctor stood there, looking at me. "Miss Hofferson, your parents are here." He looked me straight in the eyes as he said that, not giving anything away. Usually I could spot lies. I didn't see any in him.

Well of course not! They're hardly going to put me in with someone who can't lie if they want to fool me!

I looked at him with eyes narrowed. "My parents died when I was born. Mom bled too much giving birth and Dad didn't even make it to the hospital."

"Not true," the Doctor said. "That, along with Hiccup Haddock, and the dragons you drew are all a delusion." That irritated me. I wanted to go over there and rip him in half, but Excellinor's tingling stare seemed to glue me to the floor and sew my hands to my sides.

My anger slowly lessened, and I breathed through my nose, screwing my eyes shut and clenching my fists. Then, with a heavy sigh, I relaxed my muscles, letting them go limp and bowed my head head, and licked my lips. Rage still boiled in the center of my chest, but I breathed in and out, imagining the emotions just drain out of me like I always did when I was about to need to lie convincingly.

For the final touch to my calmed exterior, I forced my spine to bend forward to a slight slouch and opened my eyes, looking at the doctor with a façade of calm.

"Riiiighhht," I said, making my voice sound as if I was remembering something "Oh yeah. Now I remember. Dad was a..." I smacked my forehead, trying to make it look like I made a mistake in my speech.

"Dad _is_ a soldier in the US military. Mom works at a school. PE teacher. Their names are Astren and Hildegarde Hofferson." I gave him by best "silly me," smile, clasping my hands in front of me and tilting my head forward, flashing the big old innocent looking sapphires out of the top of my eyes while looking up.

This seemed to satisfy him. He smiled and nodded, a look of satisfaction coating his face, as if he'd accomplished something. I took another calming breath to drain the oncoming anger from his condescending eyes. "Very good."

He stuffed a hand in his pocket and motioned for me to follow. I walked behind him, shivering a bit. This place was so cold. Didn't they have a heater or anything?

It was the witch's cold glare on my back. I just knew it. Her stare was the worst thing in the world.

A despicable, evil little part of me was afraid of that glare. That part of eke wanted to turn around and tear her eyes out. Another part wanted to run and hide from it.

But mostly I wanted to just stay quiet and hope for a way out.

The doctor led me to a waiting room. Again, there was no other patients in here but me. There were, however, two visitors.

One was a rather large man with a blonde beard and my eyes. He wasn't nearly as big as Stoick, but on par with Gobber. However, he lacked my legal guardian's protruding jaw and fake tooth, the hunched back, the unaccounted for limbs. He also had a healthier build, rather than Gobber's brutish girth.

The woman was more or less an older version of me with raven hair. She was only up to the man's shoulder, and her age didn't quite show, any wrinkles present had to be searched for to be noticed. I could believe they were her parents.

If I didn't remember the hot, stabbing bitterness of fifteen years without a true family. If I didn't remember how good it felt to have Gobber call me his daughter when he saw me. How great Hiccup's welcoming hugs were at the end of the day. Or how much I treasured both of them.

These were not my parents. No. They had died before they had ever seen me. I was born alone.

Gobber and Hiccup. They were my family. I needed to focus on them. Not the two unbelievably real looking parents in front of me.

I pushed the memories in front of my eyes. Gobber hugoing me after my victory in track, Hiccup flying me out to one of the neighboring islands for a day of fun in the sun, Hiccup taking care of me when I felt aweful, GobbER driving me home instead of using the limo.

As I studied them, Hildegarde Hofferson stood up and dashed to me. I was up to her collarbone, I discovered, as she flung her arms around me and seemingly tried to squeeze the life out of me with an ear-piercing "ASTRID!"

I squirmed in the hug. She wasn't Gobber or Hiccup. She shouldn't hug me. I only let them even touch me without punishment.

I managed to wriggle free, and stepped away from her. I had memories of her. I remembered going shopping with her as a little girl, discussing... Stuff at one point. All the standard mother-daughter stuff.

That's it though. It was standard. There was nothing in there that would give me my violent gut reactions or fondness of physical competition. The girl in my memories wasn't me. She wasn't me at all.

"Ast?" She questioned, and I shifted a bit. "Yeah... Mom?"

My tone was convincing enough, but acid rolled through my midsection. Mom's dead. She's gone and buried. She took her last breath as I took my first. This woman was an actress or something.

But I had to play along.

Heavier guard if they thought I was nutso.

I had to convince them I was coming around to their deception.

"What is it Sweetie?" Bah, standard pet name! Not me!

"I don't-erm. I just- fake life. Coma. Yeah." Inwardly, I groaned and kicked myself. That was worse than when Hiccup tried to lie to me about if his stump hurt when he left the prosthetic on too long.

But "Mom" nodded, buying it completely, and pet my head.

Only Hiccup should do that! Yes, I started letting him do that when I was stressed. and yes, it did help me calm down. But this woman doing it... Felt wrong.

I moved away from her touch and bumped into the man. His beard didnt even reach my scalp, and it reached past his shoulders. I looked at him, wondering what he was on a say. I noticed the dark circles under his eyes, and a small scar on his left cheek.

Convincing enough. But... Even in the fake life, I didn't know this guy. He was always fighting overseas.

All I could do was give him a polite nod. He returned the gesture. He looked at me with a stern expression. I gave it right back. In the false memories, I was always so submissive

I crossed my arms, and looked between "Mom" and "Dad", searching for any signs of falsehood. I couldn't find anything. They were looking at me genuinely. They seemed real enough.

My heart began to ache a bit. I recognized the feeling. Want.

I wanted this to be real. Some tiny part of me wanted to have the cult, the Night Fury, the terror and loneliness I had not to be real. To have blood related parents who I could lo What if they were real?

What if... No! Gobber and Hiccup were real! I'm getting out of here, and I'm going to fly with Hiccup again! The saddle can burn if he wants, I just want to be above the clouds with him again!

But... If they were my parents, if they were real... Wouldnt that be better? If my mom didn't bleed out getting me into the world, I wouldn't have that guilt. If Hiccup didn't exist, then...

I shook my head.

I pushed away from the fake parents, a scowl on my This was a fake hospital, with fake doctors and a witch in charge!

I shook my head at them. "Sweetie-"

"Don't call me that!" I growled, not even bothering to try and fool them anymore. "Your not my parents, your not my mom and dad!"

"Mom"'s eyes glistened and she covered her mouth with her hands, trying not to cry. "Dad" just looked angry. If this was a ploy, it was a good one. But right now, I didn't want to hear it. I didn't want to consider the possibility of the wonderful, amazing, incredible life with a dragon boy was all fake, that my bond with Hiccup was nothing more than a deluded dream.

"Astrid... what are you thinking," "Dad" asked, speaking for the first time. I turned to glare at him.

"Stop talking to me!" I yelled at him. "I don't know if, if they are feeding you lies too, but I know who I am. I'm Astrid Hofferson. Harrison Haddock is my best friend, and Gobber is as close to a father as I'm ever gonna get, so don't start thinking you can replace them!"

My so called Dad reached for me, but I pushed him away.

"Are you under some kind of spell too," I snarled, balling my fists.

"Astrid, your wrong," he said, trying to reach for me. I punched his arm and he winced, holding the limb to his chest. "Weakling. Hiccup could take that punch."

"There is no Hiccup," "Mom" said. "He was a delusion in your head. A dragon boy that came to save you from monsters and be your best friend. How can you believe that?"

"Because I flew with him, I saved his life, twice! I lived with him for four months! He took me to school, he brought me into the sky every morning and every night! He wakes up at night with nightmares, but flies away too far to let me help him! And I AM getting out of here! Because he's my best friend, and I am never going to believe your lies!"

I turned to start running, but I froze.

Excellinor was in the doorway, her eyes freezing me in place again. A ringing seemed to sound in the air and I winced.

"Are you not happy to see your parents," she asked, and I scowled at her. "They're not my parents!"

"Yes they are," she scolded. "And your wrong. Harrison Hadddock is not your best friend. He is not a dragon boy who shows you wonderful things and cares for you."

I clenched my fists.

"He's your boyfriend."

Wait, wha?

Before I could formulate a response, a thin hand pulled my by the shoulder. An arm wrapped around my waist and lips slammed into mine.

It was over before I had time to think. When my assaulted pulled away, I opened my mouth in shock.

Standing in front of me, grinning like an idiot, was Hiccup. He didnt have the dragony bits, but there was no mistaking his face. Harrison Haddock looked into my eyes with a clever glint in his emerald orbs.

"Hello Astry."

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Hiccup<span>_**

I panted as I leaned on a building, holding lunch in. Arrrggggg! I'd been running for hours, and nothing! Astrid and the Shockjaws' scent wasn't getting any stronger.

My vision swam, and my limbs trembled. I felt like fire was burning through them, trying to eat me alive, bit by bit. My knees and ankles felt like they were about to come off, and the center of my chest felt like someone was dragging a rusty knife through it.

I shook my head and blinked a few times to try and clear my vison.

THIS IS RIDICULOUS!

I brought my hands to my face and groaned. There had to be some way to find her! There had to be! I couldn't just let her get mutated!

I shook my head wearily. And got back up. Cupping my hands to my mouth, I started yelling.

"ASTRID! AAAAASTRID!" I called, and did a three sixty, the hem of my coat splaying around like a fan. Man it stunk out here, and it didn't help with the problem! I wasn't made for tracking. I'm a strike class. In, do what I'm there to do out. Quick, easy, simple, boom, done.

I didn't know how much longer I could keep on the scent. Eventually I would loose the scent and loose Astrid forever.

I couldn't let that happen! I got up and prepared to keep running, when suddenly I caught another scent.

A sort of gaseous smell, and a rocky one. Then, erm, the Monstrous Nightmare's smell? That was weird. He shouldn't be near here. He shouldn't be here.

I twisted my head to where the smell was coming from. A small alleyway.

Taking another gulp of oxygen, I sauntered that way, boots splashing in filthy gutter water.

"Hello, Night Fury."

I looked to my right, seeing a man step out of the shadows. He wore a dark red suit with an ashen grey tie. His eyes were light brown, almost yellow, and his black hair was slicked back, the tips dyed orange.

But the most interesting thing was that he had the Monstrous Nightmare's wings and tail. The wings were planted firmly on the ground in front of him, like he still needed them to prop himself up. The tail stretched out lazily behind him, laying haphazardly on the ground.

Another pair of figures appeared behind me. Two men, identical, both with green dyed hair, and as thin as twigs, but had an air about them that suggested that they weren't pushovers in a fight. One had a green tattoo of a rolling cloud on his right cheek, and the other one had a green tattoo of a cluster of sparks on his left cheek. I took a closer look, and realized that they weren't tattoos. They were smeared on them, like war paint. They had medium sized yellow and green wings, and long, arrow tipped tails. They wore pinkish dark green clothes, ripped and covered in spikes.

The last to appear was a short, mildly pudgy woman, brown hair tied back in a puny tail. She didn't have any visible tail, but smallish wings folded on her back like insect wings. She was sturdy, and didn't look like she's be knocked over that easily. She was clad in a brown shirt, black pants,and a long lab coat.

They positioned themselves around me in a triangle, the twins behind me on the right, the woman on the left, and the man directly in front of me. I was surrounded.

Completely and utterly.

No way out.

I calmly took off my trench coat, spreading my wings open, while I glared at my assailants.

"So," I said, opening little zippers in the back of the trench coat, keeping my eyes in the man with the Monstrous Nightmare attributes. "Here you are. Night Fury surrounded. Can I interest you in, I dunno," I finished tugging one zipper open, and started with the other. "How about some cake. I know a great place a few streets away with some excellent cake. On me."

"We're not here for cake," the Monstrous Nightmare man said, though he did smile a bit. "We're here for you."

I pulled the last zipper open as he finished speaking. There were now holes in my coat for my wings. Useful if I wanted to fly in human form and not get cold. I shrugged the coat on, slipping my wings through.

My tail poked from the hem of the trench coat, and I looked around at the dragon people. "So, no cake. Good. Don't have any money anyway. Meh."

"Night Fury," the woman said, and I held up my hand. "No, no, my name's Hiccup. I'm looking for a girl a little taller than me. Blond, kinda big blue eyes," I made my index finger and thumb meet on each hand to make circles and held them up to my eyes to indicate the above average size of Astrid's sapphire eyes. "Really, kinda violent. Seen anybody like that. And I mean, a specific one. Not a general description of something I want."

The duo to my right snickered. I rolled my eyes and opened my wings a little, flapping them. My tail swished behind me.

"Actually yes," the Monstrous Nightmare answered, smiling. "We have. And we'd be willing to take you too her. And..." He plunged his hand into his pocket.

I prepared for a gun or something, crouching low, with a hand on the ground. I made my most viscous snarl, and my skin tickled as it changed into pitch black scales, my teeth itched as they converted into pointed daggers.

This jerk would pay for killing Nightmare. He would suffer a year for every second she was afraid and in pain before she died!

"We will help you get her out of there."

I dropped my wings in shock.

"Say what now," I asked, one ear dropping, and eyes widening.

"We can take you to her and help you rescue your friend." I stared at him in disbelief for a moment. Really? He was gonna help me get Astrid back?!

No, he still killed Nightama-

"And as both a peace offering, and proof I want to help, here is your other friend." from his pocket he produced something that. I never expected. Something I never could have hoped for. Something that made my transformation freeze in its tracks.

Glowing like a little, beautiful candle in the palm of his hand, squeaking and trembling with fright, but very much alive and well, was Nightmare!"

"Nightmare!" I yelled and snatched her away from the Monstrous Nightmare. I held the little dragon close, and she chittered with terror. She snuggled into my shoulder and refused to come out.

She was out of her mind with terror, but I couldn't stop smiling because she was still alive!

"Your plane thing went down after you took that hit. The three little ones tried to save you, but two of them got trapped. This little miss tried to pick a fight with me and the Shockjaws, all on her own. You should be proud."

I nodded, petting my little girl to soothe her. She was a fountain of nerves and wouldn't stop shaking and clinging to my neck. I murmured softly to her, and slowly she began to calm down.

"How did you end up with her," I asked.

"Well, the Shockjaws were about to kill her, so I had to think fast, right. Otherwise you wouldn't have listened," he started, sounding slightly pleased with himself. He smiled smugly, crossing his arms and drawing himself up to his full night, using his wings to push himself even higher. "So I did the only thing I could- I ate her."

"WHAT!"

Everyone jumped at my yell, but I just looked at the Monstrous Nightmare like he was a nutter. He ATE my Nightmare?!

"I spat her back up when it was safe," he defended.

"But you ate her," I said dumbly.

"It was my only option!"

"You ATE her!"

"I saved her life."

"She was in your stomach."

The other three were snickering at our exchange while Nightmare crawled into my chest pocket. I was wide dragon eyed and he looked baffled. "Yes, I ate your little friend, but can we focus on the next thing?"

"And what is that?"

The Monstrous Nightmare looked me straight in the eye as he said with utmost seriousness, "Toppling N.E.S.T."

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Astrid<span>_**

I looked at "Harrison," as he held me at arms length. He was like Hiccup. A like Hiccup. The nice eyes, the teeth, the paternal nose, the way he was three inches shorter than me. What was NOT like Hiccup was that he had normal ears. He didn't have giant wings or a long, fin-adorned tail. It wasn't bad, actually.

I looked at him, pulling away a little.

He frowned, in the exact same way Hiccup did. "What's wrong Astry?"

"What did you call me," I asked. He regarded me with shock and horror, so much so that I felt a tiny stab of regret. He looked just like Hiccup. Was was this sorcery?!

"What?!" Oh great, now he looked like he was gonna cry. Crying Hiccup. Urgh.

"Sorry, sorry," I said quickly, putting up my façade again so I wouldn't have to see that, at the same time inwardly scolding myself for breaking it due to nerves. I abandoned the lie like a noob!

"A relapse of... The insanity, yeah!" I nodded enthusiastically, putting on a smile I forced to reach my eyes. Harrison brightened, showing the ever familiar gapped tooth grin.

"Soooooo," I said. "My heads a little fuzzy, um, babe," somehow calling someone with Hiccup's face "babe" didn't bother me a lot. I shook my head a bit, forcing the smile back up. "Can you remind me of all... This." I gestured in his general direction. "Just so my head's a bit clearer."

"You just gestured to _all_ of me," he muttered miserably, and I did whatever it was they probably expected of me. I hugged him, pulling his scrawnier, smaller body close. He wasn't as warm as Hiccup, but still... Maybe this place wasn't so bad.

"It's ok," I said calmingly. "But my head _is _messed up. Tell me?"

He nodded quietly. "Yeah. Yeah sure. Your my girlfriend, Astrid Hofferson. We met in middle school, and you hated me, since I was always messing up stuff." the memories in the life I deemed 'fake' seemed to blend in perfectly. I remembered the little dork stumbling around in the halls, knocking stuff over and people. Accidentally... Slamming into me... And nearly pulling my skirt down as he fell. I had been pretty mad about it, and ... Beat him up. I wasn't proud of that.

I looked down, and he seemed to read my mind, taking my hand and stroking my arm. "Hey, it's ok. Your thinking about when we met. You didn't know me yet. I forgive you, you know. It's fine."

Just like Hiccup. How are they doing this? Did they clone my dragon boy or something.

"Then, this year, I managed to train a huge panther. Tame it!" He grinned at me. "I, in my, oh-so brilliant sense of names, called him Toothless, trying to be funny. You were the first to find out, and after playing with the idiot a little, you warmed up to me. We became friends for a bit, and I saved your life when a big game hunter came after Toothless. He was about to shoot you to get to him, and I took the hit for you. He got me in the leg, and, well," he gestured down, and I winced as I saw a standard p, run-of-the-mill factory produced prosthetic left leg. "Toothless took care of it from there.

About two months before you went into the coma, I asked you out. You said yes!" He brightened up considerably.

"I guess I did," I said. "And Astry?"

"You asked me to call you that. Why, do you want me to stop?"

"No, no," I said, waving a hand in front of him. "It's fine. It's actually... Kinda nice." I don't know why, but it really was. The last 'fake' memory sewed itself into my head. It was starting to hurt. Two lives in my head. I groaned and pressed my hand to my forehead, rubbing it with my index finger and thumb. Man this hurt, a lot!

"What's wrong Astry," Harrison said, in the same way Hiccup did, so worried about my health. I looked at him and bit my bottom lip in pain, screwing up my eyes and shaking my head. "It's nothing... Harrison," I groaned.

He looked hurt.

"Um, babe?" I offered, and he smiled softly and patted my arm. "Yeah. Yeah, that what you called me. Your getting better, aren't you?"

"Yes Babe, I'm fine. Really, totally, utterly, completely, undoubtably, undisputedly fine," I promised with a smile, and, for good measure, a kiss on the cheek.

I wasn't fine, and I knew it. One of those lives had to go. I needed space in my head. And I needed it now. I moaned again, more pitifully than before, and tugged at a strand of my hair. It really, _really_ hurt. Like, unbearably so. Owwwwwwwwwwwww!

"Are you sure your ok Astry?"

"Can I just... Go back to my room. I need to lie down." I hated the tears of pain that stung my eyes as it pounded. It felt like an overstuffed box. If I didn't empty it soon, it would burst apart and splatter everywhere in a gigantic mess.

"Of course," Excellinor said. She nodded at Harrison, who took my hand and lead me out of the waiting room as the edges of my brain stared to swell horribly. Memories battled for dominance in my head.

Going on a picnic with "Mom" and "Dad".

Going into a new home.

Attending the first day of 7th grade.

Going into the fourth new school I had in 7th grade.

My first date with Harrison.

My first flight with Hiccup.

"I expect by morning, everything will be better, with your fake life gone from your clouded little head." I could feel her smile as I was led out the door. This time... It didn't feel so cold... Maybe this place was _real_.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Hiccup<span>_**

I leaned over flapped through the air, Nightmare hanging onto one of my spines. The Monstrous Nightmare, who's name was Hookfang, was in the lead, trailed by Meatlug, the Gronckle that was formally the pudgy lady, and the twins, Barf and Belch had king of... Merged into a Zippleback, Belch being on the right, and Barf being on the left. It was kind of weird to watch.

They didn't really explain why or how they planned to take down the terrorist cult. As soon as the words had left Hookfang's mouth, they had all changed and took off. Unsure of what else to do, I had taken Nightmare out of my pocket, transformed, and out her on my back. The fireworm was wrapped around my smallest spine, a quiet mess the poor thing.

When we got out of this, I swore, the little ones and Astrid were not gonna leave my sight for a year. No, two! Maybe five!

I would protect them until my last breath!

I grit my gums and pressed ahead to be parallel above Hookfang.

** "Oi!"** I cuffed the side of his head with my paw, jarring him to the side a bit.

**"OW!" **He cried.

**"What do you mean, 'take down N.E.S.T.,' don't you work for them?"**

He scoffed and whipped his tail in irritation.** "Dude, you didn't think you were the only dragon with a free will, do you? The four of us kept out minds when we were transformed, just like you," **he looked up at me with dilated pupils of amusement. **"But WE didn't go off to protect a pretty face, lover boy!"**

If I could blush in dragon form, I would have.** "We're not- she's not- I'm not- erm,"**

Hookfang, Barf and Belch were laughing their heads off. And with Barf and Belch, that's saying something, considering they have spares.

I growled and cuffed Hookfang again, then shot a warning blast betweenBarf and Belch's heads, shutting the Zippleback up good.

Meatlug buzzed beside me. **"I think it's rather sweet. You should tell her you love her."**

I looked at her incredulously, eyes as big as they could possibly be and jaw wide open. I could feel Nightmare shaking with giggles on my back.** "I never said- CAN WE GET BACK TO THE SERIOUS MATTER?!"**

**"Sure," **Hookfang allowed himself a final snicker, before turning serious. **"But I'd rather tell you there." **

We flew on in silence, my dignity still smoldering from the conversation. But I also made a resolution. When we were out of this, when the whole thing was over, when my family was safe and Sharpshot was healthy, when I made up with Dad and Gobber, when there was no more N.E.S.T, when I was back at home, I would follow Meatlug's advice.

I would tell Astrid I love her. I would promise to never let her feel alone again, because I didn't want to be ether. Though, I ddn't know if she felt the same. Our relationship has always been...symbiotic.

I would protect her, and give her a companion she could always count on. She would keep my sanity in check, while protecting me too, and giving me a friend as well.

I guess she gives me more than I give her.

I wanted to make that up to her. She would come out of this _human, _or I would, or I would... I don't know. But I would be broken if I failed in this. Astrid would probably hateme, and there was no way I could face Gobber about it. I don't know if I could even face Astrid.

I shook my head. She _would _stay human. Not if,_ would_! No more negitive thoughts.

The dragon people led me over the cliffside of Berk. We rounded to fly right beside the craggy slopes of the island. The mist tickled my scales, and I felt Nightmare snuggle into my ear to keep warm.

I folded my ear done over her and cooed comfortingly.

**"I'm sorry I dragged her into this. Your not gonna want her here, but it's too late to go back."**

It was Hookfang. He looked a bit regretful as his claws skimmed the water. The protrusions on his back flattened with sorrow, and his eyes were dilated and furrowed with worry.

**"She's six years old. She's like a daughter to me. Is there any way-"**

**"We have a little one too. He's a Speed Stinger. Did you dream about those?" It was Meatlug, caring tenderness in her eyes. **

**"Yeah."**

**"Good. His name's Ringleader. He'll take her back to your house and protect them. He's a medic, too. He'll take care of you terrible terror."**

One thing off my chest. Now to sort out the rest.

We flew for a few more minuets, flying silently over the water, the beating of wings over water the only sound except for the sea spray. I ducked downwards to grab a bite, but was smacked by a Zippleback tail.

"Don't want to do that here bro," Barf said, and Belch shook his head in agreement. **"Water here ain't good. The fish is bad news. No munchies here."**

I soared over the waters. I noticed the smell of dragon in the air became thick and more apparent then our company would have been able to produce.

**"Guys, what's going-"**

Suddenly the cliff side came into view. It's jagged, uneven surface came into view like a great presence asserting itself. It was split by a cave half a football field wide and as tall as Barf and Belch when they stood their heads up to their full height.

I felt warm as soon as we entered the cave. It was stiflingly hot after a few minuets, and I was panting. I could feel Nightmare's puffs of breath in my ear, and she retracted from the warmth and onto the top of my head to look around.

I looked around, but the mist followed into the rocks. I couldn't see a thing. Hookfang motioned with his head for me to follow. I did, and we landed on a metal platform with railing around it, like an observation platform.

There were two men on it. One was rather short and fat, with a large amount of chins adorning his neck, small beady eyes, and pouty lips. His rotund self was clad in a naval officer's uniform, and he was almost completely bald, evidenced by the lack of any and utter hair showing from under his cap. His wings were rather sail like, and broad, colored deep blue and speckled with white. He had a long tail with small fins at the base.

The man beside him was tall and sticklike. He had a pair of wings that were so broad they took up the length from his shoulders to a few feet from the end of his long, sinewy tan tail. He was wearing a coat like mine, only tan colored, with a brown suit, red tie and sandshoes. His hair was all sorts of messy, and stuck up as all angles in chocolate brown tufts.

I landed in front of them and went human, as did the others. "Hiccup," Meatlug said. "These are the last two of our group. Thornado and Stokehead."

The fat naval officer, Thornado, saluted. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Night Fury sir."

Stokehead stuck out his hand for a friendly shake. "'Ello," he said in an British Cockney accent. "Nice to meet ya Hiccup." He grinned toothily at me. He seemed like a good guy, but the theater 3D glasses on his face made me doubt his sanity a bit.

Hey, not like I could talk.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked around, shaking my head. Nightmare crawled down to rest on my shoulder, her long tail curling around my neck and her soft glow pushing at the edges of my vision.

"So what is it we are tryin' to do here?"

The other dragon people looked at each other a bit. "Well, Hiccup, ya see," Stokehead started.

"We needed you to complete the group so we can do what we need to do," Barf said.

"Yeah," I said, shoving a hand in my pocket. "But what is that?"

Meatlug shook her head, and trilled over too a Speed Stinger, one with red frills and markings. I placed Nightmare on his head, and the fleetfooted, wingless dragon took off at rapid pace, almost rivaling my air speed.

I watched them go with a reluctant heart. Right now I wanted to have all oth them with me. But they would be safer there... probably.

"We need you to help us kill the dragons," Hookfang said bluntly, and I looked at him incredulously.

"What?! What dragons. The Shockjaws?!"

Meatlug shook her head, and waddled to the railing, taking my arm as we moved. She led me to the ledge and I peered into the mist.

Stokehead took out a tablet from his coat and tapped it a few times. "Activating the air vents, aaaaannnnnndddddd there!"

The mist began to clear, thinning gradually.

"I don't- I'm not-" I spluttered, then looked down again and gasped.

The last of the mist disappeared.

Down far below us were sleeping dragons. Dozens and dozens of sleeping dragons. All from my dreams. I could see them all, down there, slumbering.

They were piled on top of each other, beside each other curled up on walls and under overhangs.

By the smell, there were several hundreds of dragons down there.

"We need you to help us kill those dragons," Meatlug said.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Astrid<span>_**

I curled up on my hospital bed. My head _shrieked_ in agony at the force of having two lives, both now equally real feeling, in my head, pounding away.

Harrison was in a seat a ways away, and my parents had left a few hours ago. I moaned and clutch my head.

I had do choose. I had to choose. I had to choose!

I couldn't take it much longer. It was ether a life with my parents, with a sweet, wonderful, loving boyfriend, and a claim to fame as the only survivor of a terrorist attack that had swept the entire country...

Or the heart pounding, terrifying, death tempting lifestyle on Berk. Living with a boy who could turn into one of the most powerful living things in the world, dodging monsters like Alvin and Dagur, listening to Gobber's tales and patching up Hiccup's battle wounds every other day while exchanging playful banter with him.

I didn't know. I didn't know.

"Astry?" I heard Harrison say, and he rushed over to me. I felt his warm lips on my forehead, his hand stroking my scalp, just like Hiccup. Had Hiccup stemmed from him. Was my other life really all just a dream?

Sometimes I hoped so...

Right then I _thought _so. It seemed more... Perfect. Ideal. In this world, Harrison's mom and dad were both alive, and loved each other and their son more than life itself. And I was his world, his everything. That was such a good feeling. After being everyone's nothing, I relished being Harrison's everything.

I wanted to forget my old life. Something told me if I went to sleep thinking that, Hiccup Haddock the Guardian Night Fury would just be a distant dream.

My eyesight went fuzzy, my limbs heavy. Harrison and the blankets' warmth enveloped me, and I yawned. I was going to forget the life with the dragon boy, and start my new one... With Harrison.

My eyes began to close, and I could see Excellinor in the doorway, smiling with an unreadable expression, her dark blue eyes that made me prickle like ice looking at me with pupils that slowly began to thin.

**MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Sorry Mikowmer, the chapter got too long. Had to save answering your theory for next chapter. Arn't I evil?**

**Heheheheheheheheh. **

**Have an epic whatever-point-in-time-you-read-this, everyone!**


	12. Malm-þing, Part 3

**IIIIIMMMMMM BBBAAAAACCCKKKK!**

**You guys seemed to like last chapter. Your all really worried about Astrid. But all of you have to go read Mikowmer's review! I laughed when I saw it! I'm actually kinda scared he's gonna hunt me down and force me to write that part of the story if this chapter doesn't satisfy him.**

**Also, I made mistake last chapter. Thornado was already in the story as Stoick's manta ray. I thought up an explanation this chapter. Hope its a good enough one.**

**Also guys, I have been in a writing limbo. I've been getting a bit depressed with stuff in my life lately. Nothing serious, just depressing stuff I cant seem to shake. And your reviews never fail to make me grin and want to write more and more. PLEASE review, because my writing literally dies without input from people who don't owe me anything. The fact that you guys actually like this and are not the people who feel obligated to say "good job," because they are friends and family, that just means the world to me.**

**Anyway, I now hate chemistry too. In fact, I hate school alltogether. Good thing I have an outlet like this!**

**Reveiw Replies:**

**supersandman86: thank you once again.**

**A random person: Lets see for ourselves if he can.**

**Mikowmer: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I promise, though, with absolute certinty, Astrid's fate WILL be decided this chapter. Trust me on this. :D**

**silverwolves: why the barf?**

**halobeast: I cant kill a six year old, what are you, insane?! And you might be rethinking taking Excellinor on by the end of next chapter! (Evil smile)**

**Marcus Nightshade: thank you so much, and I'll work on it. Thank you and keep reviewing. **

**jlrdsr: thanks. **

**Nightwing'snight: thanks. Toothless will definitely have a role in the last chapter.**

**Part three-**

**All Hell Is Gonna Break Loose**

**IF YOU WANT TO SEE TOMORROW, IF YOU HAVE ANY INTREST IN YOUR CONTINUED EXISTANCE, THERE IS ONE THING YOU NEVER, EVER GET IN THE WAY OF:**

**PISSED OFF ASTRID.**

**_Hiccup_**

I shook a bit at what Meatlug just said. "_Kill_ them?!"

She looked at me with tears in her eyes. I had only known her barely an hour, but I could already tell that this woman was very maternal, no matter the tough masculine appearance she donned as a Gronckle. Whatever this morbid plan was, it must be hard on her too.

"Come on, guys, you can't really mean that. Kill them _all_? I mean, they're just like us. Their _our kind_!" I said. My tone was a bit pleading, but I was being asked to commit genocide on an intelligent species. I had a right to be a bit emotionally shaken, right?

Meatlug seemingly couldn't speak anymore and covered her face with her hands, retreating over to Barf and Belch, who comforted her. They whispered comforts to her and rubbed her shoulders, trying to get her to calm down.

I looked at Stokehead, who pocketed his tablet nervously and looked at the floor, scratching his hair and refusing to look anyone in the eyes.

I moved to Thornado. He merely grunted nervously and became facinated by the buttons on his suit, his stubby fingers fiddling with them.

Hookfang was the last one left. He looked me resolutely, but grimly, his wings folded behind his back. His long tail was in a casual half curled position, as if nothing at all were wrong with what was happening.

He stuck a hand in the pocket of his suit and sighed. "Hiccup, we need to do this. We need to kill the dragons."

I shook my head and leaned on the railing. Far, far below us were numerous dragons. I could spot a Snafflefang glide over his fellows' heads, his tail banging the horn of a blue Monstrous Nightmare. A zippleback was picking a fight with a Changewing, moving his heads like fisticuffs. A pair of Grapple Grounders snuggled against each other in front of a smoldering spot on the floor, while a group of Terrible Terrors wreaked havoc on a gang of Smothering Smokebreaths.

This was an a whole species. We couldn't possibly slaughter them all in cold blood, could we.

"Hookfang. What do you mean, those are people down there. You and I, we're no more important than they are!"

He scowled, biting his lower lip and shook his head adamantly. The man began to pace in a circle around of me, using his wings as a second set of legs on the ground. The claws clacked against the metal surface we were standing on, the only sound in the cavern besides the breathing if us and the dragons below.

"Your wrong," he growled bitterly. "They aren't people anymore, they're animals. Docile animals at the moment. But nevertheless, once they are given the order, they will rip you, and everyone they meet into pieces without remorse or hesitation."His voice was hard and bitter, as if speaking from personal experience.

I regarded him coldly. "Then why aren't you?"

"We're like YOU," Hookfang growled. "Anomalies. Flukes. We got converted but managed to keep who we were intact."

"And them," I asked heatedly, waving a hand downwards.

"Cattle. Breeding stock. Warhorses. Cannon fodder. Whatever is needed to wipe out humans and replace them." His eyes were cold now, colder than the artic. He no longer seemed to have any remorse about what they were about to do.

I snorted bitterly. "Some successor race!"

"Oh yes. But they have a plan for that."

"What is it?"

Thornado opened his mouth to answer when a deep buzzer sounded through the cavern. A large metallic door slid down over the cavern entrance, and red lights illuminated the space in place of the glowing moon.

Below us the dragons slowly got up, moving slowly and with a directional purpose. They almost seemed like a crowd of livestock being driven to the ranch.

Well, Hookfang had called them cattle. I felt a little acid in my stomach at that. They had once been people. For all I know, the Rumblehorn passing by me could have once been a businessman. Or a parent.

Maybe he was a student, with his whole life ahead of him.

And now it was gone forever. His eyes reminded me of a wolf's. He was looking at everything, seeing everything. But he wasn't thinking _about_ them. He was thinking about what do do with them. If what he saw wasn't food, or a threat, it was beneath his notice.

That's when it hit me. This is what N.E.S.T. does. They took EVERYTHING from people. Everything they were, everything they were going to be. Just gone. Never coming back.

I tried to imagine how I would react to Astrid in this mob of cows, a Changewing, or a Monstrous Nightmare maybe. Her sapphire eyes turned bright yellow, her essence leeched out of them as if she had always been a big scaly fiery thing, eating whatever was thrown at her and snapping at any blow like it was an attempt on her life.

There would be no evidence Astrid Hofferson had ever existed in that body at all, replaced by a creature of instinct and hunger.

I scowled, and bared my teeth in a snarl, rage pumping in my veins like liquid plasma. OVER BOTH MY DEAD BODIES! I was snapped out of my thought as Barf and Belch transformed, followed by Thornado, Stokehead, and Meatlug.

Behind me, Hookfang tensed. "Not now, I'll give you a full explanation, _and_ show you where Astrid is. But right now, transform!"

Before I could open my mouth, he rushed past me as a Monstrous Nightmare, flapping down to join the crowd. I looked at the others, but they only followed his example.

With a shrug, I once again became covered in scales and muscle, becoming a drson once again. I glided downwards, finding Hookfang by the baubles on his chin, and folded my wings to land beside him expertly. A small purple and orange Monstrous Nightmare crawled beside him, and a dark emerald green Terrible Terror scurried beside me.

**"What's going on," **I whispered to Hookfang, and the large Monstrous Nightmare glared at me.

**"Not now kid. They don't expect us to interact. We've got to keep a low profile here. Especially you!"**

**"Why, I'm sure there are other Night Furies in here. They'll think I'm one of them,"** I insisted, rolling my eyes and sounding bored.

**"No. Your the only one here."**

**"Wha-"** I began to say, utterly confused. I was a rather well designed dragon, not trying to brag, but literally they had designed me to be optimal in air and gave me one heck of a punch. I would congratulate the person responsible, but he or she is a deranged psychopath who experiments on babies.

**"Like I said, I'll explain later!"**

He growled, the noise packed with urgency, so I shut up and followed his lead. Dragons of all descriptions shuffled around us.

As we continued to move in silence, I began to notice the dragons getting a bit... Restless. Hissing and warbling nervously, they began to be a bit hesitant in their movements.

I tilted my head and sniffed. There was a deep scent of fear in the room. Powerful fear. The fear that drives people insane. I spotted Thornado walking shaking a few dragons away. The Thunderdrum was shaking violently.

Taking a quick glance around for anything, I shuffled my way to him, trying not to seem deliberate. When I finally reached him, he was making little whimpering noises. Taking pity, I decided to try and comfort him.

I knew from experience just talking to someone would be good. Just talking to someone can hold you steady when you were scared. Not letting yourself think about your fear was good. Until it confronted you directly. Then it was not so good.

But right now, Thornado was gonna flip out if he didn't calm down.

**"Hey,"** I said quietly.** "Come on, don't be afraid. You carry the great name Thornado! Don't you know where that comes from?"**

**"Yeah. The steed of one of the greatest Vikings ever to live. The power of Thor, and the ferocity of a tornado."**

**"Yup," **I whispered. **"My Dad has a gigantic, violent stingray called Thornado. When they met, he was fighting his feeders. He was winning."**

**"Ha, I'd like to see that stingray." **His lips pulled back into a draconic smile of nerves. I could tell one push in the wrong direction and he was freak out, start doing... Whatever it was Thunderdrums did. I realized I really didn't know that much about them. Or any of the other dragons. I would pretty much be screwed if I tried to fight them.

I gulped. **"Yeah."**

Moving on, I padded to alongside the Thunderdrum, not making any physical acknowledgment of him but keeping up a hushed conversation.

A few minuets later the dragons far ahead of us started shrieking. They roared and tried to fly away, but tranquilizers hit them in the necks and they dropped like dead weight. Others had arches of electricity sent over them by-

By none other than Dagur himself. The nutbar was leaning on the wall next to a chain link gate. Sixteen humans were near him. He was grinning, wings folded over his arms and tail whipping behind him.

As I watched, the fisticuffing Zippleback saw him and flinched. They spread their wings and ere about to take off in terror, before the insane Skrill Boy remarked, "Not this time Big Fellas." he grabbed their right tail in his fist, and surge went through his arm.

It ripped across the poor Zipppleback like a plague, and the two headed dragon became just as air worthy as a stone. Their blue scales hit scales hit the ground harshly, and on the the left head moved, the right head preferring to stay in the ground and tremble as smoke curled off their shared bodies.

The Zippleback head sparked angrily, murder in his eyes.

"Is that all you got, sparkey? Your a little outmatched when it comes to electricity here!" He said, and shot a lightning blast that grazed the offending head was instantly cowed, shaking a bit. From behind, a Snapptrapper took them up with their heads and carried him inside the pens they were supposed to be going to.

I watched as they stuffed a poor Gronckle in with a Whispering Death that barely had any room for itself. The spike covered dragon writhed, trying to accommodate his cell mate, but the Gronckle just ended up getting multiple cuts all over his body.

I watched the scene, itching to join in. **"This..."** I growled.** "These are the people your gonna burn?"**

Thornado looked at the ground and didn't speak for a full minuet while we shuffled forwards. I was about to go find one of the others and get answers out of them when the blue and white dragon finally spoke up.

**"Those are where they keep the dragons. What you just saw was free hour. They let us out to roam the place for a bit and send us off on exercises or errands. They remote control everyone who tries to run away and punish them. Dagur must be following N.E.S.T. willingly. That's why he's helping them."**

**"Your not answering my-"**

**"Night Fury," **he interrupted, looking me straight in the eye.** "You want to live to find your girlfriend again, right? Then stop asking questions. We'll tell you everything when the time is right, but right now, we have to get to our destination without dying, and that means shutting your gab!"**

I could only gape at him for a second, then nodded.

I crouched low and began to try to hide among the dragons. I growled for a bit. How to get in without them seeing a Night Fury. I didn't really look like any of the other dragons there, and none of them were pitch black, so I couldn't hope to blend into the background for once.

I looked around in desperation.

This was not good. Not good at all. I was being pushed closer and closer towards the pens by the second and wriggled a bit in the crowd.

Dagur and the human Dragon Herders were getting closer by the minuet. I watched helplessly as Meatlug and Stokehead were shoved into one of the cages roughly. Meatlug glared at her offender, and Stokehed lowered his head to snarl, but they were silent as soon as the tranquilizer guns were pointed in their directions.

Barf and Belch lumbered past me, Belch whispering "Find a way into one of the pens. We'll go from there," he whispered, and I cooed my understanding.

I shook my head and searched around.

Fly over them?

Fat chance.

Stealth and sneakiness?

There was stark white metal and tile where the pens started, and my scales couldn't be darker if I took a nose dive into a pit of oil.

Fight my way in?

Possibly. But then the rest of N.E.S.T. is sure to come after us.

CRAP!

Suddenly I felt something warm and prickly against my backside, sniffing like a dog.

I bit back a scream and leapt straight into the air. It didn't attract any unwanted attention, but my heart was racing a million miles an hour from the scare. I was afraid was a Herder that had discovered me.

I turned to see a unique sort of dragon regarding me curiously. He had a broad, thickly built body with legs similar to mine, except he had clearly defined paws with three purple claws on each, planted firmly on the ground with quite a bit of stubbornness.

He boasted a size twice as large as mine. His eyes and the inside of his mouth were purple, and his mouth held a total of twelve needle like teeth, two of which on the bottom were thicker, like upside down adder fangs.

He had a long, thick tail with fins like mine, and his wings were just as big as mine, only with bony hooks at the top joints.

But what really perplexed me was that he had _fur. _Thick, brown, prickly FUR! Behind his head, the fur clustered in a gigantic mane that made him look twice as big as he probably was.

A Wooly Howl. My mind drifted a bit, back to a story I had read as a kid. Mind you, it terrified me and kept me away from pointy things for a year, but right now I was glad I read it.

Because it was my way in. I looked behind me and made sure the Herders were not looking, I shuffled and made myself as small and tiny as I could, and transformed, becoming human again.

The Wooly Howl's small purple eyes widened in surprise, and made a small noise like "Wha?"

He pawed at me as I crouched on the ground. "Stop it, stop it," I whispered, trying not to laugh as his prickly fur tickled my skin. I grabbed his paw and lowered it to the ground. The fuzzy dragon's eyes dilated and sniffed my hair, tickling me again.

How can the other Dragon People expect me to kill a species like this, because I really, really can't.

I hated Alvin, and I stopped just short of killing him.

I didn't kill any of the thugs that tried to hurt Astrid. I just... Didn't have it in me to kill anything.

I could't kill them. I really, really couldn't.

Now I just had to convince the rest of them it. I reached up to pet the Woolly Howl's snout, and he cooed, rubbing his head into my hand. I grinned. This was awesome, connecting with a large creature like this.

Is this what it was like for Astrid when I first approached her. Naw, I had talked to her. And I was grumpy.

I looked towards the Herders behind me. "Hey... Odysseus," I said, thinking up a name for my new friend. "I need some help. You mind giving me a ride?"

* * *

><p>I pressed myself deeper into Odysseus's fur, trying to conceal myself as best as. I could. The Woolly Howl's mane was incredibly thick and easily engulfed me if I laid with my tail under my belly and my wings pressed into my back. It was prickly, though,like a forest of dull, tiny needles.<p>

It was itchy and kind of painful, but Odysseus seemed well inclined to hide me. I just hoped the Woolly Howl fur was thick enough that they wouldn't see me.

I could probably take them, but then there would be the rest of N.E.S.T. on out heads.

My heart pounded in my chest as Theseus neared the gates into the actual complex. The shiny whiteness stood out starkly against the dirty stone cavern. I tried to keep my nerves about me, but I gulped a little. Memories if this place from my first time tried to take over.

I tried to fight them back, but they poked at the edge of my vision, threatening to take over.

Suddenly a Gronckle started struggling. They wrapped nooses around her neck and legs. She roared in panic, as if begging for mercy, but the Herders were sympathy-less ad thy used their collective strength to pull her back to the ground.

The inelegant dragon slammed into the stone, cracking it. She made a panic as she was dragged off, furiously clawing at the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut-

_"NO! NO! NO, PLEASE, JUST KILL ME NOW, JUST GET IT OVER WITH," I shouted as agony welled up my untreated amputation. All they had done was wrap it up to stem the bleeding and it HURT!_

_Around me, I heard hisses and growls and roars, but my vision was red. I screamed and writhed against the bonds their had tied me to a bed with. _

_As we neared the gate, dark shapes moved in the darkness, inhuman noises bouncing off the stone._

_"NO, KILL ME PLEASE, I DON'T WANT TO BE ONE OF THEM-"_

I banged my head on Odysseus's back. That was over now. I needed to focus.

Astrid. I needed to save her.

Theseus. I had to stop the draconic genocide.

Dagur neared me, and I pressed myself even closer to Odysseus, trying to mask my smell in his.

The Skrill Boy looked at the Woolly Howl, stepping over the finned tail as he circled. Blood pounded in my ears, my heart beating so violently it was actually pushing me up and down off of Odysseus's back.

I resisted the urge to swallow loudly as his dark green eyes looked at my dragon friend with great scrutiny.

Man, my tail was getting really cramped now, the muscles screaming as my weight, and the weight of Odysseus's fur, now pressured on the tail. The fins were right above my face, a strand of fur was tickling my nose. It I twitched, it would go straight up my nostril and make me sneeze.

Dagur narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly his ear twitched. His eyes went yellow and draconic, pupils narrowing into slits. He growled and spread his wings open. "Let em through. Put this one in the back."

"Your leaving, sir," one of the herders asked, and Dagur nodded. "The boss summoned me."

They grimaced, looking none too pleased at the thought of their employer, or high preist, or whatever ranking system N.E.S.T. had. Dagur took to the air with a beat of his wings, trasforming as he went.

I let out a HUGE sigh of relief, adreniline in my veins cooling and my pulse slowing as they led Odysseus to one of the dragon cages. I was shaking a bit as the door closed and they locked up the pens, the other dragons snarling hissing in the dark.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Astrid<span>_**

I shook my head grimmacing. I didn't want to fall asleep like this, wether it would make my head feel better or not. I began to gather my thoughts, like I had during panic attacks as a child.

Willing my heart to slow, I breathed in and out, ignoring Harrison's words and touches.

I organized my thoughts, bringing up the memory of flight with Hiccup. I could _feel _the wind on my face, my braid slapping my back as the air ripped through it.

I could sumon the texture of Hiccup's neck to my fingertips, the grooves in his scales easy to recall.

I could even remember the rough feeling of resting my chin on one of the ridges on his head.

My chest practically exploded at the memory, my heart like a torch, blazing and bright.

It was one of the best feelings ever, and a smile tugged at my lips. I didn't resist, and it reached my eyes with ease, even making me laugh a bit, a warm feeling flooding my torso.

The pounding in my head increased, and the feelings vaished as red hot pain spiked throgh my skull.

My teeth crashed down on my lower lip as tears of pain welled in my eyes. The normal life asserted itself in front of me, demanding I see it.

I saw my parents taking me on a boat ride when I was little it seemed like a fun time, yes... But it wasnt as real as the memory of flying had seemed. I could feel anything from it. I had only the image.

Nothing stood out. Nothing, nothing shined like it did in the memory of flying. I didn't get the rush of excotement and terrifying joy that I did when I thought of flyin, even though I had a memory of nearly falling into the water

It was like remembering a movie. I could see it, but I couldn't _feel _it in the same way.

I thought more and more of the life they almost convinced me as false.

I remembered the weary ache on my sides after I laughed so hard at one of Gobber's tales of his old pet jackal, Nemisis.

He told me of a period of time that Nemisis would come after him for no apparent reason, incluiding hammer head yaks and whales in the story, until he revealed that Nemesis had only wanted his belt buckle for some reason. I was on the ground in tears by the time he finished.

None of "Dad's" stories inspired the giddy twinge in my stomach that the Tale of Nemesis the Crazy Jackal did.

I couln't feel any bond or sensation at the memory of Harrison's hugs, but when I thought about Hiccup's, I instantly felt a rush of trust and affection.

Hiccup would always have my back.

Hiccup would never give up on me.

I couldn't... No, I wouldn't give up on him!

I squeszed my eyes shut tightly one last time, thinking of the normal life with a mom, dad and boyfriend.

I. Didn't. Want. That. Life. I wanted my dragon boy, my amputee guardian, the sight of Toothoess and Thornado the Stingray, the visits of Stoick's rhino Skullcrusher. I wanted the days spent helping Hiccup with his machines, annoying him by pulling his wings or tail.

I wanted Hiccup infuriating me with sarcasm and making dry jokes during serious times, not doting on me like Harrison, because when I looked at Harrison, I felt like a possession

When I looked at Hiccup, I felt like an equal, a tresured friend. For once in my life, I actually felt like someone would honestly be broken if I was gone.

The fake life drained away, like water in a grate, washing away any doubts in my head.

The pressure on my head eased, and I sucked in a breath. "Astry," Hartison asked, and I ignored him, getting up with a grimmace. My neck and belly felt weird, but I disregarded it.

They lied to me.

They almost made me forget me best friend.

They almost changed my life irreparably.

I walked straight towards Excellinor, and the witch's smug look vanished from her face as I grabbed her arm and dragged her out into the hall.

I grabbed the collar of her blouse and slammed her into the wall. "Listen here you _witch_," I snarled, gritting my teeth, and pushed my bangs out of my eyes With the other hand.

She didn't seem very concerned though, and my rage meter spiked through the roof. When I spoke again, it was more like a rabid wolf than my own voice. "I don't know what your pulling here, but I don't want any of it. Your obviously trying to mKe this lie pretty convincing. They parents, the boyfriend who looks just like my crush, I want answers, NOW!"

I banged her back into the wall with my last word, the low rumbling never leaving my belly. My head twitched a bit, and my fingernails itched.

"My dear, I'm afraid it's not what you think it is." Her smirk just made me angrier. I growled and reared my fist to deliver a bone-crushing punch to her shoulder when my fist froze.

I couldn's move it. There was no restraints, nothing had hit me, but my arm just WOULDN'T MOVE! It was like there was a gear jammed in my brain, just one little thing stopping the entire system from going.

"Wh-what is this," I said, fustrated.

She regarded me like I was a child who had just said something stupid. I blinked and tried again with my other arm, only to have the same thing happen. Without anything pinning her, she pushe'd me back a bit to walk around me.

I didn't thing about it at the time, but I heard a scrapping, dragging sound as she walked, as if she was pulling something behind her. My legs were frozen too. All I could really do was twist my head around as she looked at me.

I screamed in anger, willing my body to obey but getting no response. I might as well have been ordering a brick wall to construct itself for all the success I was getting here.

"Let me go you bit-"

She flicked a finger, and my tongue and lips became immobilized. "None of that language now, dear," she said in false sweetness.

"So, it seems I can't keep you down much longer." She rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "Kids these days, they never listen to what you tell them. Think they know _everything_. Ugh!"

I tried my best to move, but my muscles were locked in place. Then, suddenly my right arm twitched. My hand flexed on my command.

"Astrid, my dear. You know he's not here, right. He hasnt even tried to rescue you," she said with her back to me.

My right arm relaxed, and my left lowered stiffly to my side.

"Compleatly abandoned you."

My leg now followed my commands, and my naw began to comply, closing shut quietly.

She tutted as I freed myself from whatever she had me under.

"He won't be coming to rescue you this time," Exccelinor Said before I flexed my fingers and snuck up behind her.

"I don't need him to!" With that, I clocked her in the jaw. The woman flew backwards, into th ground.

I planted my foot on her throat and knelt down. "Here's how it's gonna work, witch. Your gonna give me back my clothes. You will show me they way out. You WONT try to stop me. I will get Hiccup, and he will come in here as a Night Fury, and blow your entire place to ashes!"

She choked as I ground my heel into her airpipe. I gave her a little air, and she sucked it in. "Do... You... Know... Why..."

"Why what," I said skeptically.

"Why Hiccup was programmed to look after you?" That made me freeze.

"Because I programmd him to." She spat. "After all, it was my brother's last request before we transformed him all those years ago. And I did love him so. But it had to be done. Oh, poor child," she began to talk in a baby voice. "Dragged into all of this, with no family, no friends. You see, the process usually only works on those that hate their lives, those that have nothing at all to leave behind. Otherwise they go mad.

She pursed her lips and smiled up at me, looking compleatly bonkers. My subordinate, Dagur, for example. Resented his father, dead end broke. The only think he ever loved in the world was his baby sister."

The madwoman bit her lip then giggled. "And we killed her. Making him _perfect _to become one of our highest ranking generals. Ohhhhh," she put a finger to her lips. "Don't tell him, it's a secret."

"Your... Brother..?" I was dumbfounded. Uncle Finn had a sister? He had never...

Now I hated the witch even more. I made another move to hit her, but she said, "No, neice. Not today. But I do feel obliged to tell you... I was only his half sister. And my real name was Rhoda Dedin."

She looked at something behind me, and in a sober voice, commanded, "Kill her."

My head whipped around, and a lightning bolt of agony shot from my miriff to the underside of my jaw. I screamed in pain and-

* * *

><p>-woke up.<p>

I woke up.

I had been SEDATED!?

That was a DREAM?! I shot up and immaturely regretted it. I had little on, and was laying in a surgery room alone. I looked down at myself and gasped. Running from my belly in an unbreaking line to my collarbone was a deep scar.

Stitches looked to be freshly out.

It was a deep, angry pink, with puckered flesh and uneven texture. I ran my hand along it, and it tingled in a very, very bad way, one that almost made me crawl out of my skin and puke up what little remained in my stomach.

I was horrified. What had they done to me?! They cut me open, that was obvious, but it healed really fast. Unnaturally fast. _Inhumanly fast!_

Hiccup's cuts had taken days to heal with his advanced healing. Then again, he had last years version of it. I had the latest in super healing. Can I get a sarcastic "yay" here?

I grimaced and teared up a little, but swung myself out of the surgery bed, my guts feeling like water sloshing around inside a sack of skin.

My legs were like brittle twigs and I tumbled to the ground. As I lay on the ground, wheezing and practically _drinking_ air, I took in some things.

My vision was hazy, but it soon returned to normal with some blinking, and smell seemed to assault me from all angles. They were A LOT stronger than they should have been. Each one invaded my nose like an army of itty bitty Vikings, pounding on the inside of my nostrils with their tiny war hammers.

I thought about how Hiccup's teeth turned when he was agitated or in pain. I ran my tongue over my teeth experimentally. Nope, still square, still smooth. Still human. I looked at my arms. A bit pale, but still smooth skin.

I wasn't a dragon. I had no wings, no scales, no fangs, no tail.

My structure hadn't changed at all. I glanced around the room. It was a large chamber with stainless steel walls and a large window about fifty feet above me. I couldn't see it, but the smell of blood stabbed up my nose and into my brain like a sword.

I gagged and threw my hands up to my face, curling into the fetal position. That was a mistake, as my scar roared in protest. I gasped and a high pitched whine escaped my mouth.

Calm down, I told myself. Calm down. In, out, in, out, I breathed, air hissing as it passed through my teeth. I clenched them so hard they nearly broke, while I began to cry in pain.

It was disgusting. I was a mess, a ball of tears, snot, shivers and sobs. I was shaking so hard the whole world vibrated to me.

I just couldn't stop. For a brIef few minuets, my mind plunged down into some dark corner of my mental existence. Somewhere I never wanted to go again. When I returned, I was tried and covered in my own tears. Every muscle in my body ached.

Hiccup had told me me many times that after he transformed, he fell lower than he'd ever been. Dragons don't have tear ducts, but he might as well have as he cried and cried and cried for hours after he transformed, his mind in too much shock to do much else. There are bite mark on his tail where he started gnawing to stave of the pain in his head. When I asked him why, he said the physical pain was far, far less severe.

Every night he woke up biting his tail and crying his eyes out.

Sometimes I tried to make it better, I tried to hold him, tried to comfort him. Occasionally it worked, and he would cling to me like a lifeline, not letting go for anything. I would make it as 'ok' as I could, but I knew it would never be fine for him. They had broken him open, poked around. They had made him a thing. They had broken him so completely and utterly that even when he put himself back together, THAT happened.

But most nights he would fly away or strike at me. He would stay that way for an hour or so, the most pathetic thing I have seen in my life. His wings shivering like mad, his tail in his mouth, trying to convert the mental pain into physical. Sometimes there was blood.

I hated seeing him like that. I wondered if I looked like that, an animal in a trap, trying to get free but never managing to do it completely. My scar was burning in pain, and my tears soaked into my cheek. I nearly bit my tongue off as I cried.

Violated.

Used.

Owned.

That's how I felt.

They were monsters. To them I was a frog on a dissection table.

A lab rat.

A piece of meat to poke at to see what happened.

Something to strip bare and make anew.

Well, damn them! I'll kill them! Tear them apart, rip them open, cut them to pieces!

Thats when my mind changed. I wasn't sad anymore. I wasn't crying anymore. I didn't _want_ to cry anymore. I was done with crying for an eternity after this.

My tears dried and the pain in my torso vanished. A noise ripped out of my throat as loud as I could make it, because I needed to let it out. I. Was. ANGRY!

I scrambled to my feet in a huff, and fire in my belly so hot it would _melt_ anything stupid enough to get in my way.

I felt like I could fly through a storm and make it out ok. I could do things most people wouldn't dream of. I looked at my hand and flexed it, the bones popping as they curled into a tight fist. I stretched, relief burning in my muscles.

No more crying.

No more mourning.

I spotted my clothes lying on a table, neatly folded and, from the smell, freshly washed.

_HOW EFFIN NICE! _I WOULD KILL THEM! HOW DARE THEY! THEY WOULD DIE IN PAIN FOR THIS, FOR PUTTING HICCUP AND ME AND WHO KNOWS HOW MANY OTHERS IN THIS MUCH PAIN!

I grabbed my clothes and pulled them on angrily, dusting off the skirt before steaming my way to the door, rage filling my veins like lava, hot and flowing.

I growled in anger, fingernails breaking my skin as I clenched my skin. It only the skin repaired itself, quickly, though, so there was barely any blood on my hands.

It was still there though.

As I reached the doorway, I looked at my reflection in the shiny wall. I looked like crap, my skin almost white, eyes bloodshot, but very much human. My face looked like it had been leeched of fullness, and there were dark circles beneath my eyes. My hair was unbraided and fell of my head in matted heaps like a wolf's mane.

I roared in fury and my fist collided with the metal wall.

I really didn't care about the deep dent I left in the wall as I stormed out of the surgery room.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Hiccup<span>_**

I finally couldn't take it anymore and burst out of Odysseus's fur, gasping for air. He moaned curiously as I heaved.

"Dude," I wheezed. "You, STINK!" He nudged me with his nose and I pushed his head away, but I smirked a little. The huge fuzzy dragon cooed and nudged me again, his pupils huge and kind.

"Dude, dude come on, knock it off," I said, and he just pushed harder, backing me into the wall of the cage. I flapped my wings a bit, trying to drive him off, but the big dragon reared on his hind legs and flapped his own wings, mirroring my movements.

I laughed as he crashed down onto his front paws, unable to maintain his balance. Without warning, I felt something warm and wet hit me as Odysseus licked me up the front.

"Wha-gah, no!" I yelled as dragon drool coated my front. I grimaced and wiped it off, flicking it on the ground.

Suddenly, with a happy warble, Odysseus pinned me with his head, trapping me under his weight and knocking the air out of me.

The rest of the large dragon laid down, his fuzzy tail tickling my side. I had t bit my tongue to stop a fit of giggles.

He dug it in even deeper, trying to get me to laugh now. I was certain of it. He poked and poked and poked, his tiny purple eyes twinkling with amusement.

Finally I couldn't take it anymore. It I opened my mouth to laugh, and he took his opening to torture me, dragging his huge purple tongue over me. The thing was almost as broad as me, and tickly as his fur as he rapidly licked my face like a dog.

Finally I wriggled out from under him, now drenched. I spat, trying to get dragon saliva out of my mouth.

"Pah, blegh, oh, gha," I gagged, and he rumbled with what sounded like laughter, his chest rumbling deeply in a rhythmic pattern.

"Odysseus! Blech, oh, man that's disgusting. Dude, come on, I really don't think this washes out! Man, you got it in my mouth on purpose you stupid dragon!" I shoved his head away and he continued laughing.

I shoved his head away and froze when I saw Meatlug watching us. Her lab coat was covering her wings quite well, and she held a hand over her mouth, holding back giggles as she watched us.

I froze, my hands on top of Odysseus's head. "How much of that did you see?" I asked, glancing from her to my new friend repeatedly.

"Not much. But you two are adorable," she laughed.

Something in my gut turned icy cold. "Yeah. And your looking to exterminate his kind. Too cute," I remarked, stroking Odysseus's head soothingly. He had sensed my hostility and started snarling, but as soon as my hand hit his head, he calm down, glaring at Meatlug.

The Gronckle woman had gone silent and downcast, her lower lip trembling a bit. "I'm sorry Hiccup. I'm really sorry."

"They'll that to the species we're about to murder in ironic cold blood," I said through gritted teeth. "How did you get out?"

She shuddered and hugged herself, trying to calm down. "They-they think I'm one of the scientists here. That I'm one of them. So I had my hand print incorporated into the access pads."

She indicated the print pads that controlled the locks. "They're on both sides of the door so we can work with the sedated dragons. It's easy for me to get out."

I nodded and she walked to our cage, and pressed her chubby hand to the panel, not looking at me.

"We don't have to do this," I said quietly. "We don't have to kill them."

She shook her head sadly, tears leaking down her face and to her chin. "We do Hiccup. It's not a matter of trust. We don't have a choice."

The lock beeeps open, and I stepped out, Odysseus following loyally, curling around me slightly. I looked at Meatlug with a harsh expression, and crossed my arms. "Explain."

She sighed and started to protest, "We don't have-"

"Explain, or Odysseus and I find Astrid without you and leave." I looked at my fuzzy dragon friend. "I mean, the Woolly Howl _is _a Strike Class dragon. I'm sure, between the two of us, we can do something on our own, right dude?" He nodded agreeably, though he looked like he was just reacting to the sound of my voice and not my actual words.

Meatlug gulped.

"Hiccup-"

"Explain."

"Please, Hi-"

"Explain."

"Come one, we have to-"

"Now!"

She flinched at my yell, then looked down and sighed, gnawing on her lip. "Ok. Fine." She leaned against the wall, looking tired.

Odysseus planted his rear on the ground and I leaned with my shoulder against his side. He huffed, sending a snort of smoke out.

"Ok, so, all dragons start out as humans, ok? But when they're converted, they put a microchip in us. They surgically wire it into the nervous system, irreparably. Some dragons have an extra one implanted in the brain that can send signals as well as receive them. The transformation itself activated both.

They also have to surgically insert the organs needed for flight and fire generation, and some special dragons, like you and me who can turn partially human again, have it have their abilities as a human put in before they are turned into dragons.

From the moment they put you under, they give you a dream, the dream of the life you wish for. The dream of their heart's desire. Then they put you on a little adventure to occupy your mind so your survival instinct doesn't kick in and make you fight back.

When they..." She gulped, "...Go all the way... The chips are activated, and it wipes the mind completely, reducing them to base instincts and animalistic actions. A few dragons, like us, manage to not get our minds wiped. I did it by chanting formulas in my head, while you did it by destroying the machine before it finished the full mind wipe."

She sighed and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "But they were made to conquer and repopulate earth. The microchips can work as remote controls too. Eventually, they're gonna use the dragons to murder every human on Earth." My spine shivered at this.

I could see the dragons flying over cities, burning them to ashes. More and more humans would be converted as the war went on, eventually outnumber ing the mammals. The

Civilizations would be burning, both species dying, bodies piling up.

The earth soaked in the blood of two races battling for dominance of the planet.

She sniffled. "Don't you see it now? It's the dragons, or the humans._ Four thousand_ dragons, or _eight billion _people. How do you make that choice, Hiccup?" she said, becoming a bit angry.

"You choose the lesser of the two evils, that's how!"

I bit my lip and looked at Odysseus. The dragon didn't understand us, but he heard the gravity of our tone.

Humans or dragons.

Humans or dragons.

Which side am I on?

I looked at Meatlug. "Lead the way."

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Astrid<span>_**

I moved through the halls like a thunderstorm, very, very VERY pissed.

Two N.E.S.T. goons stood in my way and pointed their guns at me. The weapons clicked at the ready. I wasn't impressed. "Outta my way," I growled and grabbed the one on my left's gun.

I wrenched the weapon out of his hands and slammed it into the other guard's gut viscously.

He went into the wall and groaned. The other one swung his fist at me, and I twisted to avoid it. The scar burned, but I made a point to fight past it. I was Astrid Hofferson, it was time to stop letting Hiccup do all the heavy lifting. I was indomitable, unstoppable and I wasn't going to let a little pain get in my way.

The strike went past my shoulder and out of instinct, I kicked the man's legs out from under him. As he fell, I smashed my fist into his abdomen.

He squeaked in pain and hit the floor roughly. The second guard aimed his gun, but I hit him in the jaw. He spun through the air, his face meeting with the floor.

As the first guard got up yet again, I decided I got enough of him. I pulled my legs back and kicked him in the family jewels. He squealed in agony and sunk to his knees, eyes crossed. With a smirk, I kicked him the rest of the way down.

His buddy got up and groaned weakly, but I picked up one of the guns and smacked him in the face with with it. He collapsed against the wall, sinking in a broken posture.

I stretched, my new muscles and reformed bonew readjusting themselves. I looked at my knuckles. Not a scratch on them.

"Oh yeah! Try and flirt with me now, Snotlout, I'll punch you into 2020!" I cheered to myself, my internal anger burning like the Olympic flame

I wanted three things right now. I wanted Hiccup to fly me home, I wanted a meal. And I wanted vengeance.

I continued walking down the halls, beating up anything that got in my way. I was stronger by a lot now. I could take down just about anyone, and they didn't seem to be too willing to shoot me.

I wanted to kill.

I wanted to tear.

I wanted a purpose. Hiccup's was to protect me. Now mine was to protect Hiccup too. When we got back, I would be his partner.

I was STRONG now.

I could feel it. Things broke more easily when I touched them. Things didn't feel as heavy when I moved them. Kinda scary, like everything had turned to glass.

But I was still human.

No wings. Not bullet proof. Not fireproof.

I didn't want the rest of the transformation. It would be a dark and terrifying path. I wouldn't suffer it alone like Hiccup had, but the sob feat in the surgery room would only be the beginning.

I shook my head and slammed my fist into the wall, causing another huge dent.

My stomach boiled like a cauldron, and my fingernails itched like heck. It was like they were trying to pull themselves out. And... Were they changing color. My fingernails readily shouldn't be blue and yellow... Right?

Growling, I nearly ripped a door off of its hinges, and I entered a gigantic stone chamber. It was two football fields long, and one hundred feet wide. Scorch marks and fish bones littered the place, and long gashes were cut into the stone everywhere.

I looked around, squinting in the darkness. I kneeled down and inspected one of the fish bones, thinking fondly of Hiccup.

As his face appeared in my mind's eye, my rage lessened a little. I wanted so badly to see him again. I don't know how I was gonna break it to him. He didn't... Really succeed. He would be heartbroken.

And as much as I hated to admit it, post-night terror Hiccup always left _me_ heartbroken. And I really didn't need any more crying after my breakdown earlier.

Suddenly a putrid smell hit my nose and I whirled.

Alvin hovered over me, hissing. His quills quivered dangerously. My stomach dropped and buried itself in the ground as he growled. Where's Hiccup when you need him?

Not that I did. But still, it would be nice. Really nice.

Super nice.

He roared at me, hundreds of sharp pointy teeth spinning in his mouth like a huge living shrewder. Hot air buffeted my face. Somehow it didn't have the same effect as Hiccup's Night Fury form puffing in my face when I looked him in the eye.

Land the fact it was _RIPPING MY EAR DRUMS OUT!_

That thing wasn't called the Screaming Death for nothing. I fell back onto my bum, biting my lip and covering my ears.

Ok, maybe Hiccup might be a little tiny bit necessary in this situation.

**"You!"**

Eh?

I backed up a bit, shock replacing fear. "Wait a second, did you just talk?"

Alvin didn't want to listen, however, and snapped at me. I leapt to the side, his jaws closing on air. Huh, I can speak dragon now. That will make things easier. A lot easier living with the little ones.

Putting that little fact in my mental "freak out about later," list, I started to run as the gigantic white dragon snapped at me again.

**"No fancy grass to help you this time girly,"** he yelled, and shot off his fireballs at me. I ducked, and the searing shots grazed my head and exploded in front of me. I let out a small scream and stumbled backwards, trying to change direction.

Panting, I went to dart to the side, but his massive body slammed in front of my way. They same thing happened when I tried to backpedal in the other direction, only to be met with another wall of white and red spikes.

Soon he was coiled around me like a snake around its prey. He hissed amused as I looked up at him, panting. Fear welled inside me.

There was also... Something hot, something stinging, something burning. It was next to my stomach, a little to my right.

It didn't really hurt it just... Was hot. Like putting your hand on something that was really warm, but not hot enough to burn.

Alvin screamed in my face again, and I opened my mouth to scream right back at him-

-when the sensation rushed upwards coursing into me and going right into my throat. It pushed at the back of my mouth, and I made a hacking move with my throat.

Fire rushed out of me A straight line of white hot flame that hit Alvin in the face. He roared and backed away as I coughed and spluttered.

As badass as I felt for breathing fire, it was PAINFUL! It felt like getting acupuncture in my throat and mouth, and every time I moved my tongue I striated the raw, burnt skin.

I grimaced and held my throat, stumbling back a bit.

Alvin hit the wall with a loud bang, his coils moving haphazardly as he fell. He got back up and lunged for me, teeth spinning again. Without a second thought, I relit the fire in my belly. It was surprisingly easy, and I jumped back from his strike.

Planting my boots firmly into the ground, I let it loose again. It wasn't as bad this time. Hopefully it would get better over time, and I could eventually do it without pain.

The fire shot straight into Alvin's side and pushed him into one of the walls, his head slamming into the stone with extreme force.

I looked at my fingernails. They were blue and yellow all right, but they felt weird. I flicked my fingers and flexed them, scowling.

Alvin flew at me again and I shook my hands, trying to get rid of the itching under my fingernails. They were so annoying! ARGG!

I stamped my feet and yelled in anger, swinging my hand in an arch.

With an whistling sound, my fingernails shot out, immediately replaced by ones thankfully. They looked like spikes as they flew through the air like little arrows. Because they hadn't been aimed, the projectiles went haphazardly, going nowhere near Alvin and impaling themselves in random places.

I looked at my hands. "Cool," I grinned.

My self appreciation was short lived as Alvin dove into the ground. The stone under my feet shook, and I took that as my cue to run!

I dove back into the hall as Alvin surfaced, shredding his way into the hall. I panted and looked for a way out, spotting an air vent.

Never before had I been so grateful to be puny as I ducked into it, sliding down the slanted vent while Alvin screamed behind me. He roared, trying to follow, but couldn't seem to eat at that wall.

I smirked as I slid down, getting to the bottom. On my hands and knees I began to crawl forwards, trying to get my heart rate to go down a bit.

It had almost worked, when Alvin's blood red tail stabbed in front of me and retreated, leaving a sizable hole. I scrambled backwards, but Alvin seemed determined to play cat and mouse with me before I died. He kept stabbing into the vent, heading me this way and that.

I relit my fire and readied my spikes. I could get used to this. It was like being armed, but less cumbersome. It was awesome!

As Alvin went in for another attack, I flicked my wrist, sending the spikes shooting out and stabbing into his tail.

The Screaming Death shrieked and retreated, my spikes snapping as his tail pulled out.

Suddenly he bit at me from out of nowhere. I had just enough time from the moment his face broke through the floor to jumped and cling to his nose horn, hiding behind it for dear life.

He burst through the vents and walls like a gigantic living drill. I ignited the fire again and clenched my gut, the white hot fore speeding straight between his eyes.

I flexed my fingers again, summoning the spikes.

"Goodnight, Alvin!" I yelled and shot them straight into the top of his skull. They didn't go in very deep, but they had some sort of tranquil ozone effect as his eyelids drooped and he went into a downwards decent, breaking through one last wall before drawing into its neighbor.

The force of the impact was so huge that I got jarred, my he and banging into his horn so hard I felt something warm run down the back of my head. I moaned and pulled myself up, shuddering as I fell off his massive head.

Hitting the cool metal floor with a thunk, I felt wiped again. Drained.

Note to self: use spikes sparingly. They take energy to produce.

"Astrid?"

I looked up, and I swear, I had never been so happy to see someone's face in my life.

Joy flooded me, washing way the bitter feelings I was having. A friendly fact was just what I needed right now.

And the fact it was his dorky face, with his long ears and copious freckles and beautiful, beautiful, _beautiful _green eyes made it all the better.

I pushed myself to my feet and tackled him, his huge wings splaying as we made contact with the floor again.

"HICCUP!" I yelled as squeezed him tightly, a grin on my face. I'm pretty sure I heard cartilage crack, but aI didn't care. I just wanted him with me again, and now that he was, I would never leave his side again. And he wouldn't leave mine. I was so relived, I didn't even hear him squeak "Oxygen!" desperately.

Eventually, I felt his arms wrap around me. He hugged me back, and slowly pulled us to out feet.

"Astrid," he said happily, enveloping me in his wings. He grabbed my head and looked straight into my eyes, checking me over.

"Ar-are you all right. You-your not a dragon, obviously. It took me weeks to learn how to go human. But did they do anything to you, anything at all-" he was cut off as I smacked him.

He looked at me, a bit shocked.

"Stop babbling like an idiot, I'm fine!" He blinked, then gave me the gapped toothed grin that had become a bright star in my world these past few months.

He held me by the arms and danced me around. We were cackling like mad people, but I didn't care. I had my friend, my real friend, not the dream-boyfriend Harrison, back. He was here, his long tail and enormous wings a part of himself as much as ever. We stopped dancing and I bounced a little, my feet barely even touching the ground.

Then, with a mad smile, I punched him in the arm. The poor boy spun around in a full three sixty before reeling against a wall.

"OW!"

"That was for not rescuing me," I said without venom, then darted in to plant a quick kiss on his cheek.

He turned redder that a stop sign and spluttered, his hand going up to his cheek in shock.

I giggled at his expression and my fire unwillingly reignited. I pushed it down and doused it instinctually. I was gonna have to learn to control that.

"And that," I said finally. "was for trying anyway, you sweet, clever, epic, awesome idiot!" A bit of affectionate aggression ebbed into my voice by the end of that sentence.

Then I looked behind him at the men, the woman, and the fuzzy looking dragon behind him.

"Who are they?"

**So, how was it? Good, bad, eh? Oh, and the number of have been extended by one, unless I decide to rewrite this chapter. What do you guys think?**


	13. Malm-þing, Part 4

**Hi guys.**

**I wasn't reassured by some of the reactions to last chapter. I hope the end of this chapter will be satisfactory enough to get more good reviews. **

**Some of you didn't seem to like Astrid not being full dragon. That's actually an important part of this and the Lonely Guardian. Sorry if you were looking forward to her going full Deadly Nadder in this story, but it's not going to happen. Flying with Hiccup is one of the key components of their bonds.**

**Also, if it wasn't obvious, they have their HTTYD 1 faces. **

**Also I want to announce an early rewrite of the Gang. Should I start it anew or keep the current version up and alter it?**

**Review Replies:**

**Silverwolves: Thank you. And no, that's all she's getting.**

**halobeast: I already explained what happened to her. But its nice to know your enjoying the story so much. But by the end of this chapter, you'll definitely rethink going toe to toe with Excellinor.**

**Sheilded Myth: thanks**

**a random person: I took your advice and changed the name of the Woolly Howl to Odysseus. Also, sorry if you didn't like Astrid's POV. I was trying to portray her post trauma and in a addled state. Sorry if she was too radical or emotional for you.**

**Mikowmer: that's it? Really? Where's the usual love?**

**JediKnightMarina: thank you so much. Your review really helped with some issues I was having when I read it. I love the fact that you enjoy GNF so much and I really hope to see you in the Lonely Guardian. Also, the Woolly How. Is from the Rise of Berk app game, a new Strike Class dragon that looks absolutely awesome. Search it up, it's pretty cool.**

**Marcus Nightshade: glad I didn't disappoint**

**jlrdsr: sorry about your name. Also, it's just school cracking down that I'm struggling with, kinda making me tired and killing my creative ideas before I can write them down. As for the depression, it's just brief flashes. Not a lot to worry about. I'm not an emotional person, most of it goes into my writing, so...**

**supersandman86: thanks again mate.**

**sheppard741: thank you so much for your review, every single one helps!**

**Guest: thanks**

**Maksimillian Istrus: wha? Thanks, but I have know idea what that means.**

**Nightwing'snight: maybe after the story is done I'll divide it up. Sorry about the about any parts that were hard to read.**

**Guest(2): I wanted reviews with positive responses, not hate! Unless you have something good to say, then please do not review on this story again. Do not flame!**

**six samurai of dragon order: sorry!**

**PersnicKty: thanks so much. I was going through writer's block/depression when you wrote that, and your review gave me the push I needed to get thought writing the final stretch of this chapter. **

**I broke 100 reviews! Yay!**

**Also, before I start Lonely Guardian, I'm going to do three one shots in the GNF universe:**

**Gift of the Guardian.**

**Public Relations. **

**and Collage Interview.**

**They will be 3k+ long and deal with some gaps between the stories.**

**One more thing, I have another story thought up. Ever seen Young Justice? Well, I've added Astrid and Hiccup in as team members, Hiccup a shapeshifter and Astrid as a super assassin/teleporter. Would any of you read that?**

**Also, I'm looking for a cover artist. I don't want to just paste a standard image up there, I would like someone to make a custom cover for this. Anyone up for it?**

**One last thing. This chapter has some stuff dealing with technology. Im not a techie, I barely know my way around Wordpad, let alone Microsoft word. I don't want to hear anything about how I describe the stuff in here. **

**WHAT CAN HE DO TO STOP THIS?**

**_Astrid_**

I looked at the assorted group. The fuzzy dragon made a confused noise and looked at Hiccup questioningly. He patted its nose, and the dragon cooed and sat down.

I surveyed the others.

They had wings, most of them had tails. They were startled, and some of them had patches of scales on their skin, and their eyes were reptilian and slit pupiled. The a Monstrous Nightmare one was in a defensive posture, while the Zippleback people placed themselves defensively in front of the Gronkle woman. The Timberjack guy just shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned in a friendly way, while the fat Thunderdrum got was too gob smacked for words.

"Hiccup, are they like you," I asked, biting my lip. _Like me now, too. _

"Yea," he said, biting his lip in agitation. His face was still red from the little kiss I had given him.

Now that my adrenaline had faded, I realized what I had done might have made things awkward, and I turned as scarlet as him, looking down at my boots in humiliation. "I'm sorry," I mumbled, gesturing to his cheek, and he shook his head, taking his hand down in a hurry.

"No, no, it's fine."

"Heat of the moment."

"Yup."

"We good?" I smiled apologetically.

"The best." He nodded.

"Good," I breathed, relived.

"Excellent," he answered. I inched away from him, trying hard as heck not to make things more awkward than they already were, and I pulled at a strand of my hair, not wanting to look at him.

He coughed and looked away too, swishing his tail behind him in as he pursed his lips and shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"Can you two do this later," the man with the British accent and Timberjack wings said, looking at us frantically. He glanced between us and then scowled. "We're in a bit of a hurry here.

"Yeah!" We both said this at the same time, a bit too quickly, relived for a distraction.

My limbs were trembling a bit from all the excitement, and I took a few shaky stems forwards, causing Hiccup to offer his tail to me as support. I leaned on it, the left fin fluttering lightly before my nose.

I smiled at him, and he grinned back, ruffling my hair, which was still messy and upbraided.

Then I remembered the combatant that brought me here. Alvin was was still except for his slumbering breaths behind us. The guy was so far gone he was almost just like a snake in the way he behaved.

I briefly wondered if my spikes were poisonous, then quickly resolved _not_ to check back with him later.

Suddenly Hiccup turned to the big dragon and clambered up his head. A pit of worry embedded itself in my stomach. Oh, no. I had been planning on keeping it a secret from it, until Hiccup reappeared from atop Alvin's head clutching one of my spikes. "Ahem. Anything you want to tell me, Ast?"

I looked away, pursing my lips. "...no?"

He shook his head and looked at one of the burn marks I left on him. He took a deep sniff, wafting the air towards his nose. "Magnesium fire," he muttered, and glided down from Alvin's head with a scowl.

He landed in front of my and held out the spike. "This, along with four others of varying sizes, were embedded in his head. I'm sure you had nothing to do with that."

"And I'm sure, with you using that tone, you don't want to continue on without a black eye," I said, the sarcasm in my voice rivaling his. I put my first up for emphasis, but he was undeterred and grabbed my wrist.

"Hiccup, let g-," I had unclenched my fingers, and he held the spike to the tip of my middle finger. It had the exact same width of that one's fingernail.

"Astrid," he said wearily and without determination, his eyes a little dull and faded. "What did they do to you?" His voice was infected with concern.

He looked like a twig about to snap, bent to its absolute limit. I really didn't want to tell him. He would get emotional. He would cry. I was done with crying. I had no more tears to shed, and I really didn't need to see him cry right now.

I needed him on his feet, and snarling like a beast. Fighting. Defending. Guarding. I was watching his back too now. He didn't need to baby me anymore.

But he had lost a the determined light in his eyes, and the replacing sadness bored a hole in my will to lie to him.

"Things," I said, and tugged the edge of my jacket quietly. The scar tickled against the fabric, and without the cauldron of emotions overflowing it just felt... Overwhelming.

It ached as I breathed in and out, and was extremely sensitive. Any violent action would cause it to ache worse, but not all that badly.

"They ummmmm... Surgery. I have... Well I-I can blow fire now. I'm stronger, I can smell better, um, oh! Have these spiky things in in my fingers." I wiggled said appendages teasingly in his face and he sighed.

"I'll just put that in the "cry over later" pile," he said. "Right now, we have something important to do."

I began to deflate a little, but I didn't know why. I wasn't the top priority, I knew that, or at least, I was pretty sure I did because I didn't know what _was _top priority.

But it did kind of sting, him casually brushing it off, like some kid had pushed me into a mud puddle instead of criminals surgically grafting organs into my body.

Then I looked again, and his eyes were once again lit with fierce determination, the kind nothing with wisdom would dare get in the way of.

"And some revenge to take," he finished his earlier sentence with gusto. "Hey, self pity is useless, am I right?" His gapped toothed grin spread across his face like a flood.

It wasn't all right. It would never be quite 'right' again. There was a lot of pain in the future, but right now, emphasis was _future. _Right now, there were things to do, asses to kick, and cults to smash.

"Absolutely!" I smiled sadly. The smile didn't reach my eyes, and neither did his, though.

"Astrid," he said, "this is Odysseus, Hookfang, Barf, Belch, Meatlug, Thornado, and Stokehead. They're..." He grimaced a bit. "Acquaintances. They want to take down N.E.S.T too."

"Good!" I chirped, excited now, but a look of pain fell on my friend's face, lips curling into a frown, eyebrows furrowing, head bowed in shame.

"Buddy," I said, my face pinching in concern. I grabbed his chin and tilted his head up to look at me. His eyes weren't swimming, but I could tell he was afraid. If raid if what he was about to tell me, no double.

"They say..." He swallowed. "They say we have to kill all of the dragons. All four thousand of them.

"_Four thousand_," I gasped, astonished. "How-"

"-did thy do it?" He finished. "They've been working on this since the fifties, and taking the miserable scum off the streets, plus their own members and children."

That made me shake with anger and willingly ignite the fire in my belly. How dare N.E.S.T. ruin that many lives! And how dare this group kill all of them! Then I realized Hiccup was in that group too.

Hiccup is a nice guy. That infuriates me from time to time, yet, but he always left an ambulance call after he finished beating up the gangs that tried to take me and leaving evidence of their crimes. So exterminating an entire species... Man, that was gonna be hard for him to go through with.

I chewed my lip, but he shook his head and grabbed my arm. "It's them or the Earth Astrid. Come on."

He tugged me forwards and I followed, stumbling a little. Odysseus padded behind, and the dragon people were in front of us, Thornado leading the way. The halls were white, with white tile and white walls, and blindingly bright white lights on the ceiling and no decorations on the wall.

The dragon people certainly left tracks, muddy boots dropping evidence of their presence as they walked.

After a while, I pulled Hiccup to the rear of the group and whispered in his ear.

"Can we trust them?" I whispered to Hiccup so that only he cold hear. He gritted his teeth.

"I've seen the other dragons," he muttered. "Their like dogs now." Odysseus was acting fairly doglike. "They aren't. They're like me. They made the transition from just human with add ones to fully merged dragon and human without having their minds wiped. That means they're clever. Really, really clever. And they speak with the same hatred of N.E.S.T. that I do. You can't fake that level of hatred."

I nodded, and he continued "Plus, Hookfang saved Nightmare's life. It was a disturbing way, but she's still living to tell the tale, though she probably won't for a long, long time."

We rounded a corner, and Hiccup began to become agitated.

"So how does killing off the dragons go towards overthrowing N.E.S.T.?"

A patch of scales surfaced on his temple, and he scratched it, trying to get it to go down. It didn't work, and scales started to spread over his face from stress. "They... The dragons are... Living weaponry. They're docile now, but they can be..." He rolled his hands, searching for the right word. "Activated I guess. Activated for war."

"Against who?"

"Humanity."

I swallowed nervously. "B-but there are weapons we can use to wipe them out. Um, nukes-"

"They can fly away as soon as they see the bomb coming."

"Missiles," I suggested. Big explosion vs lizard would give us a good chance, right?"

"They can knock missiles out of the sky with fire, and lots of dragons can outfly planes."

"AA guns?" Not a lot of difference between a flying reptile and an enemy plane to an Anti Aircraft gun, right?

"Whispering Deaths."

Hunt from underground, that's right.

"Regular bullets," I said a little desperately.

"Kevlar like scales."

Ok, that's it!

I punched him in the jaw. Before, it would have just made his head fly to the side. Now I completely decked the poor kid. I'd have to watch my strength from now on. Ergh.

He clattered to the ground after bouncing off the wall, hitting his head on the way down. He groaned and pushed himself up. "Stop talking like that!" I held my hand, as my knuckles were stinging like heck. "It's like you _want_ them to win!"

He rubbed the spot I had punched, and I winced when I saw I had split his lip a bit. "Ohhhh, sorry," I said as the scarlet liquid dribbled from his mouth as he grimaced. He flooded his wings tightly to his back, and his tail curled around his legs slightly.

"No, Astrid. It's fine. I just... I _really_ wish I could find a way out of this," he wiped his mouth, smearing the blood on the cuff of his coat. The other dragon people dared not speak, and Odysseus was watching our exchange intently.

Hiccup rubbed his snout and looked at me sadly. "I'm sorry Astrid. Really, I am. Really, very sorry... But..." he ran a tired hand through his hair. "Now we have a job to do." He lashed his tail then looked at me, scales growing on his hands.

"Ahem."

We looked to see Hookfang with his fist to his mouth. "Come on," he said urgently, motioning with his hand.

We followed him quietly, not talking after that. I didn't really want to See Hiccup become a murderer. He already had blood on his claws, did he really need to add four thousand lives to his conscience?

I was honestly worried that he might commit suicide or something. Not if I was around!

I began to desperately try to think of a way to get him out of this, but I had nothing. He was being pulled towards his fate in proverbial chains. He had wings. He had me, the the person he came for. He could leave right now if he wanted to, have me climb on his back and fly straight back out the way he came.

But if he did that, he was leaving everyone on Earth to die, or, at the very least, suffer a long, bitter, blood-soaked war.

I looked at the Dragon Boy with pity. What made him the target of the world's hate. He was kind, he was helpful. He loved making other happy. Why was it always him that got a beat down from the universe?

On an impulse, I grabbed his hand, hoping to comfort him. When he looked at me in shock I whispered, "Whatever happens after this, I'm her for you. You know that right?"

He looked a bit shocked, then nodded his head, eyes shining with gratitude, and squeezed my hand. He smiled softly, and whispered "me too," back to me.

There was gonna be alot of healing to do after this.

_After_, though.

Soon we arrived at a hallway with two guards in front of it. We hid before they saw us, and Barf grinned evilly, his teeth becoming long, pointed and needle like.

A stream of green gas billowed from his mouth, filling the hallway. A little gross, and it smelled _revolting, _like rotting fish and beef mixed with fart and the smell of crap. I guessed it would be times like these I wouldn't want an enhanced nose.

I pinched my nostrils, and heard the sound of guns clicking. One of the men gagged, and I couldn't really blame him.

Suddenly Hiccup went Night Fury, jumped into the smoke, his finned tail the last thing to disappear in the grass green cloud with a tiger like growl. There was the sound of strikes going down on human bodies and a couple of yelps, the sound of Hiccup's paws hitting the ground, and a body slamming into the wall and slumping.

The gas cleared, revealing the guards to be out cold, human form Hiccup leaning against the wall, an unamused look on his face, arms crossed.

"Well," Meatlug said. "We're almost to master control. And we haven't been caught yet."

Hookfang face palmed, grimacing. "Meatlug!" He scolded,mwaggign a finger at her. "What!" She held up her chubby hands defensively. "You never say we haven't been caught yet!" He scolded. "Don't you know anything about infiltration!"

Meatlug scoffed, and I had to agree with her. Hookfang seemed a little messed up in the head to me. Well, not like any of us could talk, I guess.

"You watch too much Tv," she said, waving a hand dismissively, until the gas behind her cleared, revealing a security camera. It was pointed straight our incriminating little scene.

"Aw crap," Hookfang muttered, and I looked at him incredulously. "You didn't plan for this? Scout it out or something?!"

"It's not as if we can infilitrate here easily. Meatlug has to keep a low profile, so she can't go into the higher security areas. We don't know about the defenses! We barely managed to get a schematics map!"

I stared at him open mouthed. "You are the most incompetent infiltrators ever."

Belch scowled at me, and Barf said "well, we're dragons already. What, you want us to be a "Mission Impossible" crew too? I mean, Thornado is a flying blue-with-white-poka-dots bullhorn with teeth the size of the average housecat. Not exactly stealthy!"

The Thunderdrum man shot a dirty look at the Zippleback twin, when the alarms started to go off.

I could hear footsteps thundering down the hall, and I could smell gunpowder. This was not good, but oh man, was it ever exciting! Adreniline filled my veins and I got tunnel vision. All I could focus on was getting to our objective.

"Guys," I said, "They're coming!"

Suddenly Hiccup transformed and threw me onto his back. I landed on his black scales roughly, loosing most of the air from my lungs, and when I looked up the others had transformed too.

Men trampled into the hall, but Hiccup rushed forward, me hanging onto his neck tightly. He hit the one in the front with a foreleg, then the soldier's successor met with his other fist, before he spun and smacked three away with his tail.

They flew into the wall with a loud thump, falling to the ground and Thornado flew over our heads and glared at the assailants.

They readied their fire arms, but Thornado opened his mouth, his flattish body expanding to three times it's usual size. Now he was vaguely cone shaped, his tiny limbs splayed to the sides and sail like wings fully expanded.

A furious roar ripped from his mouth and boomed into the hall, the air rippling in front of his cavernous mouth. The men were thrown back by the sheer force of the soundwaves, tumbling end ofer end.

**"Get that door open!" **Hookfang ordered, and Stokehead nodded.

He raised his wings and sliced into the door, making a deep cut. I twisted on Hiccup's back while he reared and roared at the on coming men, flapping his wings violently to gust them away and intimidate them.

"Woa," I commented. "Thoes are some sharp wings. That door's got to be solid steel.

Stokehead grinned at me, before returning to his work of slicing through the door. He cut deeper and deeper with each slash, getting closer and closer to the other side.

I turned back to the fight as Hiccup jumped forwards, biting one of the men in the shoulder.

He picked up the goon and shook him like a dog with a squeaky toy, before throwing him back into the crowd. A few of them fired, but Meatlug flew in the way, her rock hard skin making the bullets useless.

She fired off her lava shot, causing the remaining men to scatter as the fiery orange othb exploded against the far wall.

**"Door?" **Hookfang called to Stokehead.

"Working on it!" The Timberjack man said. He was halfway through the metal door now.

I fired off my spikes at another goon that tried to take aim while Hiccup" back was turned. They impaled his clothes and pinned him to the wall by his gun arm.

Hiccup bounded forward, and I clung to his ear flap. He spun on his right foreleg and brought his tail down on one of the enemy soldiers. Gunfire rang out as thre behind us took their shots.

Hiccup spun, putting his chest between me and the ammo. They bounced off his head harmlessly. When the last cone of led had clinked on the ground, he opened his mouth and let loose a terrifying roar, firing off a plasma blast that hit one of the men. It was a weak one, to the explosion only shattered his armor and send in into a smoking heap against the wall, while the force of the blast knocked his cronies to the ground.

Six more men came up from the left hall, and Odysseus took his turn to show his stuff. He opened his snakelike mouth, and let loose a barrage of small, rapid fire plasma blasts, like a machine gun version of Hiccup's ability.

The plasma hit the ground in front of the men, causing them to stumble backwards. Next thing they knew, the fuzzy brown Strike Class was earning his rank as he shot in front of them and tore his claws into their flesh, making bloody but breathing wrecks in place of armed, dangerous men.

"Done!" Stokehead shouted, and the sliced up door fell to the ground in pieces. More armed guards piled in from the halls, the red flashing lights being _really_ distracting.

Hookfang sent a stream of napalm fire at them, the flames scorching their helmets and melting the wall behind them.

**"Hiccup, Astrid!"** He yelled.** "Get to the other side of that hall. We'll be there in a minuet, just let us clean up here!"**

I nodded, and Hiccup roared in consent. I gripped his neck tightly as he rushed through the door, and into the much bigger hall. It looked like a clear path forwards, but I heard something coming from our side. The sound of energy surging and a banshee like screech.

Hiccup much have heard it too, because he bucked me off, arching his nack and throwing his hing legs in the air to send me fling five feet away from him.

I rolled along the ground and glanced back up at him just as a purple blur slammed into him, electricity fling in all directions from it.

They bounced on the floor, then slammed into the wall, creating a sizable dent in the metal surface. I got a good look at the thing. Purple, spiky, and ridiculously large claws on the wings.

Dagur pressed Hiccup to the wall with his leg on the Night Fury's throat. Electricity crawled across his back, but Hiccup hit him in the face with a plasma shot, sending the Skrill flying backwards.

He went after Dagur with unsheathed teeth and blazing eyes, claws splayed and ready to tear. Dagur recovered from the hit he took earlier than expected, though, and met him halfway.

They collided mid air with a heavy slam. I'd never seen a dragon v dragon fight this up close before, as Hiccup had taken the battle with Alvin to the air. It was much more controlled than an animal fight, but much more chaotic than anything a pair of fighting humans could be like.

Hiccup raked his left paw into Dagur's back, while he clamped his jaw onto the Skrill's left wing and pinned the other one with his paw, trying to pin them down so he couldn't get stabbed again.

Dagur slashed into Hiccup's sides with the claws of his feet, and the two rolled onto their sides, Hiccup's enormous wings beating wildly like solid shadows. Plasma and electricity lit up the hallway, and blood smeared across the floor as the rolled, mot changing their positions.

Hiccup managed to get the pair of them hovering in the air, where he slammed Dagur down into the ground, and let loose another point blank plasma blast that exploded against the purple dragon in a starburst of erie blue light.

With his enemy dazed, Hiccup leapt towards me and attempting to nudge me to safety. The other dragons were still in the hallway, fighting N.E.S.T. goons, but again Dagur proved to be astonishingly durable, and he pushed himself to his feet. Upon seeing where his onyx enemy's attention was focused, his yellow eyes focused on me.

**"NIGHT FURRYYYYYYYY!" **Dagur yelled, diving forwards and shooting multiple consecutive blasts at me. Two barely missed, but one went straight at me.

Before I could move, Hiccup knocked me over with his paws and the blast went straight into the big black idiot's back. He screamed and collapsed on his side, smoke curling off of him. Dagur's eyes narrowed and he ran forwards, crawling with his wings like Hookfang.

I shot my fire at him, hitting him in the side of the head. He was forced to the right by the force of the magnesium flame, and hit his head in the wall with a loud clamping.

He seemed undeterred, though, lunging towards us, until I shot my spikes. There was just enough room in the hall for him to flap his wings and fly over the shots and he plunged his oversized claw towards Hiccup's heart.

The big black idiot was still on his side, panting, the occasional aftershock still coursing through his body. He would recover soon, but not soon enough to beat Dagur.

"WAIT!" I cried, and shot a spike between them from my index finger.

It whistled through the air and stabbed into the ground with a chink. It was small, but significant enough to make the purple electric dragon halt in his tracks, panting, one wing up with overlarge claw raised.

**"What,"** he whined.** "Can't you see I'm _busy_, trying to kill this _traitor_ to dragons?!"** He sounded annoyed, like a teenager complaining to his mom after she interrupts his game.

I bit my lower lip and readied the spikes on my right hand. "There's something you should know Dagur," I said, panting. He turned human, with his arms and wings in a similar position to what he had been in as a dragon. He straightened, looking very annoyed that his kill was interrupted. I lit the fire in my belly, hoping he wouldn't notice my abdomen shifting from the action.

"Yes?"

I Would have smirked. Idiot. Didn't know I could understand dragonese, so he turned human and left himself venerable.

But I should probably still give him the news. Could changed the tide later.

"Whoever you think killed your little sister-they didn't," I said, gulping down some air to feed the fire. It was getting harder and harder to keep it in. "It was N.E.S.T."

He had just enough time to widen his eyes in shock before I released a stream of magnesium flame on him, a straight line shooting straight for him.

It hit him center chest and threw him into a wall. He screamed in pain. He was only semi fireproof like this and it must have hurt a lot, as when the orange streak had ended he slumped against the wall, passed out.

Hiccup turned human and groaned. I picked knelt beside him as he pushed himself up with one hand, holding his head in the other. "Owwww." I smiled and grabbed his wing, hauling him to his feet. Er, foot and metal structure.

He dusted himself off and shook his head, looking at Dagur. "Wow. You are getting pretty badass my friend," he said, smiling at me. "Dagur _and_ Alvin. That's _two_ of my enemies you've beat down. Impressive."

I panted from exertion of blowing the fire, but managed a weak smile for him. "Ha! Better watch out, Hic. Soon I'll be the stronger one around here!"

He smirked, exhausted. "Alright. But no matter how strong you get, I'm the one with these!" He opened his wings, showing off the inky wings shamelessly and giving me a superior smirk.

I scowled at him playfully and kicked his shiny artificial leg, making him yelp in surprise.

The other dragons soon joined us. In the hall they had left behind were dozens of unmoving men.

I didn't bother to tell if they were breathing or not, turning back Hiccup. He rubbed the metal leg as if the insult of my kick had hurt it, his fingers squeaking on the cool metal and smudging it with fingerprints.

We made our way over to the door. Meatlug buzzed into the air, hovering three feet off the ground, and barreled full speed at the door, leaving a Gronckle-face sized dent in the metal.

A few more attempts and it was down, revealing the interior to us, with a slightly dizzy Meatlug turning human and stumbling around a bit, rubbing her head and groaning.

I stepped in and surveyed what I saw. Inside was a large array of machinery. I couldn't even begin to describe it. All I can do is, think of the most impressive assemblage of tech you've ever seen. Than imagine something twice as impressive looking.

"Wow," Hiccup breathed, taking it all in. "The Master Control I assume?"

Hookfang followed us in, looking grim. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his suit and looked down, not wanting to meet our eyes.

Hiccup looked at the other dragons, except for Odysseus, with cold, hard eyes. With his enormous wings and ears pinned back to resemble pointed horns, he looked like some kind of angel of judgement.

That is, if angels of judgement had nerds.

They refused to meet his eye, looking at the ground or the computers. Thornado tugged his cap over his eyes, and Stokehead and Meatlug went to the computers, starting to work on them. I didn't really know what they were doing, but I had my bets on they were trying to do.

They didn't want to focus on what was about to happen.

He growled a bit, before spitting out, "Well go on. Kill the dragons. Just leave Odysseus, Sharpshot, Veil and Nightmare out of it. Kill them, and I'll have your heads. All of yours. That's a promise."

He stared at Hookfang, who sadly shook his head.

"There was a reason we needed you here Hiccup. And it wasn't to be muscle to get us to the master control." The Monstrous Nightmare's voice quavered, like a man about to tell someone a person that they loved died.

He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing and he picked at a button on his bright red suit. He grit his teeth and yellow eyes met green.

"They way the Master Control works is, one computer sends out a signal. That signal is caught by a dragon with a transmitter chip in their brains. They translate the signal into the Master Control, which then sends it to all the microchips in all the dragons, a general command."

He held seemed to have more trouble looking Hiccup in the eye now.

"The thing is, Hiccup," he said, voice now uneven and shaking. "Out of the six dragons in this room, only one has a transmitter chip."

Hiccup seemed to get Hookfang's point early and turned pale, his near white skin now in stark contrast with his black ears, tail and wings. He backed away from the Monstrous Nightmare, fear written across his face. He grabbed my hand for comfort, and I was so worried about what he was thinking that I didn't even blush.

"No."

"They're only given to those who are designed to be the highest ranking dragons. You were going to be second in command as the Night Fury."

"No."

"I'm sorry, Hiccup-"

"Don't say it, don't you dare say it!"

"But-"

"I'm warning you Hookfang, don't make me-"

"You will have to be the one to kill all the dragons."

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Hiccup<span>_**

I shook violently at the news.

No, I told myself. No, no, no, no. He can't be serious.

Its some kind of sick joke.

It has to be.

I can't kill them. I can't kill them. I can't kill them. I can't kill them.

I. Can't. Kill. Them.

My stomach churned so badly I thought I was gonna throw up, and I clenched Astrid's hand so tight I was mildly worried I would break it. It was unlikely, given her new strength, but still.

I was breathing heavily, about to fold my wings around myself, when I felt Astrid's arm around my shoulder. I looked at her, scowling at Hookfang with unmasked anger.

"No," I breathed, trying to make my voice stay as calm as I could make it, despite the raging storm of panic inside me. Scales rapidly spread across my skin, and I tried to force them back down, along with the bile battling its way into my mouth.

My vision was tinted green, so my eyes must have turned dragon, and I could feel claws trying to manifest on my fingertips. I shook my head and let go of her hand, forcing my way out of her arm.

"Hiccup,-" she started, but I raised my tail in front of her to stop her from talking.

"No, no, no, no!" I muttered, clutching my hair. "No! H-How am I supposed to do this! It's all so messed up!"

With a moan, I walked to one of the systems. This thing has to store massive ammounts of data. It was hundreds of possessors, hard drives, and circuits. Massive amounts of wires were connected to each system, making a large web of coils and plugs that spread across the room, with a massive transmitter in the center of the room.

I could feel a tingling inside my head. The signals from the computers interacting with the transmitter chip in my brain. That must be how I put people to sleep. Send out a signal that stimulates the part of the brain that makes you sleep. At least, that's my best guess.

I ran a hand along the transmitter. It has no bullets, no pointy edge, no trigger or hilt. It doesn't go boom. But it's about to kill more effectively than any gun, knife or explosive.

They want me to program a kill signal. To make the transmitter to tell every microchip to put the brain and body in permanent shutdown. Stop the mind, and stop the heart.

Tears prickled at my eyes. This was becoming too much. Sharpshot was grievously injured, Veil and Nightmare scarred for life, Astrid in some kind of partial dragon state. And now they want me to commit mass genocide?

My teeth were pointed, so when I bit down on my lower lip, I felt a warm, metallic taste on the edge of my tongue, which I quickly spat out.

Thornado came and put a hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off. "Hiccup," he said, trying to return the favor I had done him earlier, but I shoved him away. The man stumbled back and looked at me with a bit of fear.

"No, you don't get to comment on this. You just led me to the murder site. No matter how hard this is gonna be for any of you, I'm the one who has to put the knife in their necks. I'm the one who has to kill them off. It will be on my shoulders for their deaths. None of you can talk to me right not. No dragon here has anything to say to me!" I said, putting as much anger into my words as possible.

I was small, I was skinny, but anything covered in black scales would be scary when they are yelling. And by the time my rant ended, I had no skin, just layers of pitch black scales and acid green eyes.

I covered my face in my hands and walked over to one of the office chairs in front of the computers. I spun the seat around to face the screen and growled in frustration.

"No, no, no, no!" I yelled, slamming my hands into the desk. My metal leg tapped on the ground, and I longed to take it off. My stump was aching horribly. I remembered why they did that in the first place. To stop me from running away.

I had collapsed the night I had begged to die, my body too tired to go on. They had found me sleeping, and to make sure I didn't get away like I did the first time, they had chopped off my leg.

I remembered waking up to the intense pain in my left leg as they started sawing it off. There had been a woman's cold voice, telling me it was ok, that I would get a new one soon. That didn't help the intense agony as they cut though nerves, bone and flesh.

I screwed my eyes up and fought back more tears. That woman was insane. Someone who thought it was ok to saw off a person's leg while they were awake while telling them _they would get a new one soon_. That _new one_ included a monstrous new body.

All that pain, fear and abuse... I wanted to forget the world right now. Take Astrid and go home.

Why not let the dragons destroy the human race, huh? They had mocked me and tormented me all my life. Snotlout had given me the stupid scar on my back when we were fourteen, using his father's cattle brand. Why the Jorgensons even had a cattle brand was beyond me!

I was afraid of humanity for a reason. They would see me as a freak of nature. _I_ see me as a freak of nature. I would be an even bigger outcast than before. I was surprised dad had accepted me back so easily.

I was surprised Astrid accepts me at all.

_Why_ _not _let the dragons win. _Why not_ let society's hated and abused take revenge.

Why not let them burn?

In an instant, my anger disappeared.

I couldn't let all those people die. Heck, I couldn't even let a pretty girl get hurt. I banged my head on the table, and groaned. I am such a sap.

How would I ever live with myself if I let that happen? And how will I ever live with myself if I do this? I'm screwed on both ends of this deal.

I couldn't have been a Gronckle, or a Monstrous Nightmare. They coul don't have made someone else the effin Night Fury.

Suddenly Astrid's hand was on my shoulder again, and I looked at her. She had deep sympathy in her sapphire eyes. "It's a mess," she said. "But you know our motto."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Self pity is useless."

She nodded sadly, and I wiped a hand over my eyes.

"...you really don't reassure people a lot do you," I remarked dryly.

"That obvious?" We shared a bitter laugh, and I could feel the other dragons watching us from behind. Odysseus nudged my hand and I scratched him a bit, looking at the screen.

"I'm still trying to think of a way to stop this from happening," she said, still trying to lift my spirits.

I propped my face up with one hand and looked at the computer tail swishing behind me as I moved the mouse around.

"Yeah, well," I said, "unless you can think of something, all we got are these files." I began to scroll down the list of data files left open on the screen. "Target lists, former identities, scouting dragons, in process experiments, dragon designs. List of _failed_ experiments, what the heck," I said, leaning closer to the images in front of me. I clicked on the file. There were only first names on the lists, then dragon types.

"There's me, Hiccup, Night Fury. Then there's someone called Valka, she got turned into a Stormcutter. Oh and then there's Drago... What the heck is a Bewilderbeast, did any of you dream of those?"

They shook their heads, and I exited the file with a groan. "Arrrggggghhhh! I'm trying to save the dragons, and all I have are freakin' FILES!"

I slammed my hand on the desk, and Astrid and Odysseus flinched away. "Hiccup," Astrid said, "your going to be fine-"

I wasn't listening, though, because a spark hat lit in brain. I held up my tail to silence her again, and scratched my chin thoughtfully.

"Files, files filesfilesfilesfiles,"

Files are information.

Names are information.

Astrid saved me with my name...

Transmitter... All the dragons.

All at once.

Free will.

Files.

Name!

Information!

I sprung up, knocking the office chair to the ground behind me. I whirled to Astrid and grabbed her arms, a mad, insane, joyous grin conquering my face. "FILES!"

"WHAT," she yelled in surprise.

"You lot," I pointed at the dragon people. "The memory wipe didn't work on you. Phi fought it all the way through, right."

Hookfang nodded, confused. "Yes, but I don't see-"

"Of course you don't, now shut up and let me explain," I interrupted. "The thing is, it DID work on me. Almost. I _smashed_ it," I emphasize my point I beat a fist into my palm.

"Before it could finish the job! I had no memories, and most of my personality was destroyed, but I still had my free will and knowledge, more than just instincts. _That's_ what set me apart from the other dragons."

I grinned at them, my heart going at an enormous rate.

"But as you, Astrid, know, I got my soul back. All you had to do was say my name over and over. You _reminded_ me who I was. That's all I needed. A little reminder."

"I still don't-" Hookfang tried to say, but I held up my hand. "Still shut up."

I turned to Astrid and smiled. She looked utterly confused too, but if saw a teeny tiny spark of understanding in her eyes.

"These files, these four thousand _beautiful_ files, they have everything they need to remind the dragons of who they are!" Excitement coursed through me and I grabbed Astrid's elbows again looking into her eyes with a determined smile on my face.

"Your not killing them are you?" She asked with a proud smirk.

"Nope! I'm not just saving their lives, I'm doing one better! I'm giving them back their souls, HA!" I laughed out of pure joy, jumped, and kissed her forehead with a loud "Mwa!"

When I pushed back, I noticed she had gone completely and realized what I did. "Um," I said, swallowing and folding my hands behind my back. "Sorry."

Shaking the awkward moment off, I ran back to the computer. Meatlug waddled up to me. "What are you doing? The kill signal I programmed-"

"Not gonna happen," I said. "Their minds just need a little reboot, like mine did. Little reminder. And these files are that reminder! I'm gonna send the information out in the signal, and program it to return to the original microchip it was gathered from!"

I began typing as fast as I could downloading the files into a single cluster and setting them up to be sent out as a signal.

"Odysseus-" I said, and the dragon looked at me. "Head back to the dragons. I'll need you to get them all out of here. Your clever. They wouldn't have made you a strike class dragon if you weren't, now go! Keep a clear head and make sure the dragons high tail it out of here as fast as they can, got it!?"

He looked at me blankly, and I sighed, grabbing the fur on his neck and leading him to the door.

"You'll understand those words in a minuet, now GO!" I pushed him out, and pointed back the way we came. He nodded, running for the exit.

I went back to what I was doing.

I wasn't going to become a murderer today. I was going to save them both!

Humans _and_ dragons!

* * *

><p><strong><span><em>Excellinor<em>**

It started when one of my subordinates tugged on my sleeve. I had just gotten out of the failed mind occupation, which I had overseen personally.

"Ma'am," he said. "There's something wrong with the master control. It's preparing to send out a signal."

"That can't be right," I said, my face pinching in confusion. "I'm not in there. How can..." Then it hit me like a wreaking ball. "Night Fury!"

That pestering failed experiment was up to something. "What signal?" I snapped at the man, who cowered a bit. I began to storm towards the door of my office.

"Um, mass send out of the personal files of our targets," he answered nervously, and my hands shook in anger. Bluish grey scales formed on my arms,with little red tipped spikes on them, but I forced them back down.

"Get the Dragon Nip gas ready," I told him, "and the cage for the Night Fury."

He nodded, but I opened my mouth and shot a huge burst of methane fire at him. It grazed the top of his helmet, and the poor man yelped. "I wasn't done talking!"

He nodded frantically, and I scowled. "Get my personal hanger open. I'm about to transform."

"Are you sure, ma'am," he began. "It's broad daylight. The entire city will see you as soon as you surface-"

"That's the point you idiot, if the microchips fail, then I will take the city dragon's minds by force!"

With a final desperate nod, he ran out of the room, and I turned towards the window, where, not too long ago, I had need the Night Fury flying, and made him freeze in his proverbial tracks.

* * *

><p><strong><span><em>Hiccup<em>**

I got the signal ready for sending, setting it up as fast as I could.

Suddenly one of the walls of processors had sparked and lit up.

"What was that," Astrid yelled as I rushed about. Stokehead and Meatlug were helping, while Hookfang, Thornado, Barf and Belch watched us work.

Astrid was where I left her as I ran about, rewiring some things to get ready. "Im about to send the complete summary of four thousand people through a single transmitter. That's a huge moving of data, and even with a system as advanced at this, it's a big big transfer. It's a bit much on the processors and hard drives..."

I finished making the transfer as I explained to her. "But that won't stop me!"

I smiled at her, and suddenly the room shook.

I rushed to the door and opened it up.

"What is it, we're busy!"

My eyes widened as they were met with two dozen men armed with rather large cannons, and two rather surprised ones with a battering ram.

Me and the group of assailants stared at each other for a moment out of shock.

"Bye!" I said quickly and closed the door.

"Who was it?" Thornado said, and I pushed past the fat Thunderdrum man I'm ny hurry

"Solicitors," I said sarcastically and he rolled his eyes.

Sitting back down at the computer I started at I pressed send, and the computer began to play the signal.

The summaries of four thousand lives.

Four thousand ruined lives.

Four thousand _stolen _lives.

Four thousand souls I was giving back to them. And with their help, N.E.S.T. was going DOWN!

There was a tingling between my eyes and I went dragon, looking at the transmitter. I was the middleman for the signal. It want from the computer, into me wher translated the signal into a wavelength the transmitter would accept that only the chip in my head can do, then sent it to the device.

There was no indication the signal had started, only the computer catching fire behind me. In fact, most of the master control nearly exploded from the sheer effort of what I was trying to do.

I was faintly aware of the door exploding behind me, but I kept my concentration on the signal.

I heard the sounds of gunshots and firing, getting the feeling this fight would be different than the other one, if only because this time they were _expecting_ to fight dragons.

I had to keep my focus, though. If I broke it, then the signal would end.

Thats why I didn't move.

Not even when I heard Thornado cry out.

Not even when I heard Meatlug scream and Barf and Belch yell in anger.

Not even when I felt Astrid's warm little body press into my side.

* * *

><p><strong><span><em>Inside the Dragon Pens<em>**

The dragons started shaking as the signal reached them.

"What's wrong with them," one of the guards asked as the thunderdrum near him roared in pain.

Every reptile in the building began to fidget and roar in agony, clawing at their heads.

A hackatoo got his nose stuck in a bar he'd tried to chop. A Rumblehorn broke right through the bard of his cage because he was so startled, knocking over his guards.

A flock of Smothering Smokebreaths began to fly about in their cage, and a group of fireworms started to glow bright, their enormous chained up queen hissing and spitting at her captors.

The purple Monstrous Nightmare that had walked with Hookfang was spewing fire out as his eyes turned into slits, and a group of infant Scuttleclaws tore loudly at their cage.

They tried to ready tranquilizers, but the dragon pens soon dissolved into chaos.

"Somebody call backup!" One of them yelled, but was silenced as a hotburple landed on him, writhing in agony.

A large brown Stormcutter forced her way out of her cage. She looked terrorified, primary wings splayed out to the sides and slit pupils. Almost instantly she tuned human, a woman with huge green eyes and Stormcutter wings and tail on her back. Her hair was brown and extremely long, hanging in matted bunches from her head.

A green Rumblehorn followed her out of the cage and roared in pain, letting his blast off.

The woman groaned, and clutched her head, falling to her side, and wrapping her head in her wings. She writhed in torture.

"H-H-Harrison," she muttered, before sweeping her tail and tripping the guard aiming his gun at her. "I'm sorry!" She cried out, turning dragon again and flying for the exit, through the cloud of distressed flying reptiles. A few Snafflefangs, Hobblegrunts, Seashockers and Raincutters followed her, beating their wings as fast as they could to flee

Soon all the dragons in the pens were out of their cages and freaking out, flying, firing and roaring all over the place. The place was chaos, everything flying everywhere, the cages destroyed, and the N.E.S.T. soldiers in disarray.

N.E.S.T. was falling.

Their main focus since their founding was rebelling, and there was nothing they could to to stop it as memories flooded back into their victims.

They started realizing what had happened to them, and they.

Were.

Angry!

The entire room went still as the signal ended, and with the dragons fully aware of what had happened.

The first one to move was a Snaptrapper, all four head looking down to glare at the human beside them. He whimpered in fear as the dragon's heads opened their mouths and snarled.

A loud scream rang through the air.

And that's how the dragon rebellion started.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Hiccup<span>_**

I stopped the signal as the sounds of fighting echoes through the building. Astrid was slumped agains my side, breathing lightly, with a tranquilizer dart sticking out of her arm.

Thornado was on the ground, bleeding.

Stokehead was lying against the wall, the side of his head bleeding from a wound caused by a blunt weapon.

Meatlug had a bullet wound in her side, and the twins were in dragon forms, sedative darts in their necks.

Hookfang was bleeding on the ground, his wings full of holes and a dart in his leg.

And here I was. Last half reptile standing.

I turned human and eased Astrid off of me, laying her on the ground softly, and pulled the dart out of her arm. Around me were the defeated forms of the two dozen men from earlier, but fove more with dart guns and gas cannons were in there place, weapons trained on me.

In front of me was a woman with a huge blue-grey skirt and bright red hair. Her eyes were dark blue, but sent a chill through me like ice.

She was looking at me with contempt a creaming from every inch of her face. She was scowling, so I reverted to being a smart ass.

"So," I said, getting up slowly with my hands up. "Your the Up Top around here? Can I at least learn your name before we get started?"

That earned me a contemptuous smirk from her thin lips, one that was almost a scowl. "My personal name is irrelevant. Look at you. How ashamed of himself Stoick must be to have a son like you."

I seethed quietly, not letting the glare on my face show.

"Just answer the question."

"Fine," she said, and took off her coat, revealing a pair of relatively small blue-grey wings. They had already seen some action, and were ripped up along the edges. From under her skirt poked a huge, muscly clubbed tail.

"You may call me by my dragon rank."

"And which one would that be?"

"Oh, come on. You dreamed of the dragon ranks. Surely you remember which one was the highest, right after you."

I closed my eyes, and horror filled me. Right after the picture of myself in my journal, there was a picture of a monster so huge and terrifying, I never wanted to imagine the had gotten to making it.

"You were the prototype for the Night Fury race, like your little friends were the prototypes' for theirs. Night Fury's were going to be the cleverest dragons out there. You can work out what I am."

I shook my head earnestly and began to back away from her. "B-But you _can't _be that one. Y-you just can't!"

"Oh but I am," she said, smiling cruelly. "Knock him out." the men with the gass cannons shot a cloud of grass green vapor at me. It filled my nostrils.

Such a sweet scent.

Soft cloud too. It tickled my skin and made me sleepy.

So... So... Sleepy.

Before I knew what was happening, my head hit the floor, my limbs numb.

As my vision faded, the witch in front of me became coated in blue-grey scales, red tipped spikes on her arms. Four extra eyes grew beside her normal ones, and a coral like crown manifested atop her head. Her teeth became long and dinosaur like, making her grin all the more eerie.

"Before you go to sleep, little Night Fury, say my name. I want you to acknowledge your mistress's rank. Say my name."

"Why" I groaned, rolling onto my side.

"Because I want you to know who I am with absolute certinty. I want you to look your death in the eye and know that you are the one that forced me into action so quickly. Your the one who destroyed the machine so quickly and disrupted your own programming, making you protect Astrid from even us. Your the one who went after her, and got caught up in all this. And you are the one who ran from your father. If you'd stayed with him, things may have gone much, much differently. So, before I go and kill everyone you've ever known, say the name of my dragon rank. Excelling was the name of a woman from long ago. I just happen to be using the same body. She died the moment I was transformed. Excellinor died, and I was born. And I am?"

"A witch."

She strode over and kicked me in the gut, pain blooming from the spot as if her pointy shoe had been a knife.

"I said say my rank, you little black worm. Say the name of the queen of dragons, before I take away the last few hours of your life!"

I turned dragon in a hope to escape, but I merely ended up flopping back down onto my belly.

I moaned and opened one large eye to look at her with a weak glare, and she grabbed my head and slammed it into the ground. "Say it!"

The drugged gas was making it harder and harder to think, and slowly destroying my will to stay awake. I wanted to so badly, I tried to focus on Astrid on the ground a few feet away, tried to focus on my intense need to help her.

But my eyes were drawn back to Excellinor, telling me to acknawlage ner as the superior dragon by saying her rank.

Her rank was queen.

Mistress over all dragons.

Leader of the N.E.S.T.

We called her the:

**"Red..Death."**

**Well, what do you think guys. I'm kind of eh? On this chapter. Maybe a rewrite or something. But... See you in most likely a week. **


	14. Malm-þing, Part 5

**Hi!**

**Here it is, the final battle. Hiccup v Red Death, who I'm sure you guys wern't expecting!**

**As we near the end of this story, I want you all to comment on your favorite parts and elements of the story. Tell me what you liked best about it, from Hiccup in the tramsformation room to the events of this chapter.**

**What did I do right in this story?**

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**Also, I got cussed out real bad by a guest who saw a comment on another story that might have come across as mean. I have moderated that review, because there is no call for that kind of language or rudeness, but I have one thing to say:**

**If you're gonna flame, DONT, and stop reading. I made a mistake and I am sorry, but there was no call for all of that!**

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**Enjoy the story everyone, and if the flamer is here, get a new tongue ya dirtbag. Sounds like yours is pretty much ruined by all the cussing. Your vocabulary is disgusting.**

**Also, a shoutout to two very special reader, supersandman86 and PersnicKety2018. I never would have gotten through this chapter without them. It was almost like this chapter didn't want to be written. I had a very hard time writing it, because of anxiety and stress, but hearing your reviews is what I really love. Having people love what I do is a. Awesome feeling. **

**Lets go everybody!**

**RED DEATH VS NIGHT FURY**

**_Red Death_**

The Night Fury. Like the Stormcutter, and both Bewilderbeasts, a failed experiment. I looked at the black dragon laying on his side.

He was _beautiful_.

Long, arrow like body, huge, elegant wings, well muscled tail. The wings and fins optimally proportioned, and his head well shaped to cut through the air. He was designed perfectly for flight. With his explosive plasma shots and shadow colored scales, he was the perfect stealth bomber.

Oh, such a shame to kill him.

His intense, acidic green eyes slid closed from the Dragon Nip gas. The stuff was like laughing gas to other dragons besides myself, except, without all the annoying laughter. And it puts you to sleep.

Actually, I guess its not like laughing gas at all. It's just knockout gas that makes you feel good before you pass out.

He folded his wings lightly over the girl as they slept, her head disappearing under the leathery black membrane.

How sweet. The sentiment didn't last long as my men lifted the Night Fury by the head and tail, a third man lifting his midsection. He growled in his sleep, a long, low, rasping sound underplayed by a moan like metal put under stress.

His ear flaps twitched and his teeth unsheathed, his paws flailing weakly in dreamland.

Such willpower.

Such dedication!

Such a fool.

I'll admit, he put up a good fight. And even now, I could hear the dragons above us clashing, my men being wounded or dying as the dragons took their revenge for our violation.

Oh they are mad. Absolutely furious.

And so, so pointless too. They think they can fight their way to freedom. They lost the right to choose the moment they were born as humans.

My rounded on my heel and exited the room, my tail dragging behind me and scraping the ground. My dragon features receded, sinking back into the disgusting human skin.

"You know what to do with him," I said as the door closed.

Still such a shame. I remembered when I was little, I had a little book of dragons. I dreamed of them and drew them in my little journal. It had the designs for my entire species inside. From the recently created Fireworms, all the way to me.

When I drew those dragons, my favorite was the Night Fury. For most other dragons, flying was a way of getting around, but for that dragon, flying was everything. Every fiber of his being was centered around soaring through the air at high speeds.

And now I was gonna have to kill him.

So sad.

But still, what has to be done has to be done. He freed my servants. Now I have to get new ones, and I was tired of hiding in the dark. Those days were over.

It was time to step into the world and declare war on all humanity!

**_Hiccup_**

I had a bad taste in my mouth when I woke up. I mean, sure, the cloud of gas they had hit me with had been like a large mass of cotton candy that lulled me to sleep, but when I came too, it felt like they had dipped my tongue in dog crap.

I groaned and rolled to my other side, my left wing sore from being pressed under my full body weight.

I flapped the wing a bit to loosen it up, snarling in discomfort.

I kept my eyes closed, though, my brain still fuzzy. It was like being half drunk, half with a hangover- nothing made sense, my stomach was in rebellion, and my head felt like some idiot had mistaken me for a gong.

I shifted to lay down on my belly.

Bad idea.

It felt like I was laying on metal bars, the welded edges poking into my soft underside, but I was so drugged, I didn't care.

I smacked my lips a few times, trying to dissipate the taste in my mouth, then lolling my tongue out, letting out a long, slow snort.

Where was Astrid...?

WAIT A SECOND, ASTRID!

Oh, crap! I fell asleep and left her with the Red Death! Oh not good, ohhhhh not good!What if she was dead, what if she was under the transformation machine right now, scales popping out of her skin, and wings and a tail bursting out of her body in bloodied heaps!

Oooohhhh no. Ohhhhh no. Gotta go. Gotta go now!

I leapt forward before I had opened my eyes, and my head smashed into the cage, my face not even making a dent in the bars.

I was a large cage, about three times the size of myself. I couldn't tell what was made of, but it was strong, and the bars were so close together I couldn't slip through in ether form.

Below me was the sea, deep blue waves splashing, and salty air tickled my nose, sea-spray landing on my head. I looked around, finding my cage was connected to a crane. The crane of a boat, like the ones they use for fishing. Or like the _Orca_ in Jaws, but, you know, with a crane.

I growled lowly. The Red Death. I needed to get out of here... Which would be a whole lot easier if I wasn't seasick.

Oh.

Ohhhhhhh man.

Erg.

I shifted on my paws, trying to find a way out. There was none. And the swaying of the damned boat wasn't helping me concentrate.

I didn't have any help ether. I searched for the other dragons, but I couldn't find them. It was just me and him on the boat. I didn't want to think about what that implied. That maybe the others were dead. That maybe _Astrid_ was dead.

The image of my blond hothead lying dead somewhere extracted a low growl from my throat and I lashed my tail angrily, the limb clinking against the swaying cage. Rage filled me.

I loved that girl too much to let her die for any reason! She was my purpose in life, to make sure she was safe and well! And I was going, NOW!

The cage was too small to gain enough leverage to tear it open with my claws or teeth, and my human form would only be able to dent it, so I opened my mouth, ready to use my plasma to blow a hole right smack dab in the middle of the cage and blow this dump. When I tried to fire-

Nothing happened.

Nada.

Zilch.

Zippo.

My my wings dropped in shock. How was that possible? Th-that shouldn't have happened. I should have been able to fire and rip cage right open! It's just... Not possible!

Then I shook my head, cursing them in my head. They _made_ me, of course they know how to contain me. The top of the cage had a little device on it making a low buzzing sound. The sound vibrated against my belly, and I realized the thing must have been blocking my plasma from firing.

They _created_ me. Of course they'd have precautions to keep me contained.

About three hundred feet away was Berk, the tall craggy cliffs reaching just high enough so I could only see the rooftops of the building from my vantage point, the lights blinking on the high-rises. Above me, the sky had a thick layer of grey clouds covered the sky.

I looked up at them and cooed mournfully. The Red Death was here. They were all in serious danger. All of them.

I had dreamed about that monster, she wasn't a dragon, she was a demon. A beast from hell that wouldn't show any mercy or pity for her victims, human or dragon. A bloodthirsty creature, raised to know nothing but hate and killing. No soul, no conscience, no nothing.

Just the despicable cleverness and the need to kill. She was N.E.S.T.'s crowning jewel, the ultimate dragon. Her entire body was a weapon of Armageddon, and her body had a cockroach's survival capabilities.

I was afraid of her, not like my fear of my father. With him, I was afraid that he would hate me, find me a useless freak that deserved to die. Then I'd agree with him and... Probably go fly into the sea. The fear of the Red Death, that was honest, pure self-preservation induced _terror_ of her. She could slay me in an instant.

All that it would take was a snap of her jaws and boom. No more smart ass Night Fury.

And to think that she was the one running this whole thing, that demon behind all the pain and terror of the last year, behind my leg's sadistic removal, behind my transformation...

Behind my interest in Astrid. That one really disturbed me.

Ok, I, maybe that was the initial thing, but I was, without a doubt, head over heels for her. R-right?

Yes, yes of course I was. I loved her. I loved her _a lot_ more than I loved myself. My bond with her this past half year was beyond some guard dog-charge relationship. I would do _anything_ for Astrid.

But I'm kidding myself if I thought she'd do the same for me. She's still _human_, I'm a thing. A monster.

I shuddered, trying to dispel these thoughts, when something hit me. I could hear people talking from the other side of Berk, I should easily be able to hear The N.E.S.T. base from where I was.

I cocked my head. I could see the dip in the rocks were the entrance to N.E.S.T. was, I should be able to hear the dragons fighting back. I should hear the sound of dragons roaring and battling their way to the open sky.

I heard nothing. All was still. All was quiet, except for the splashing of the water under me. There was nothing at all.

What had happened to the dragons?

The boat behind me appeared to be abandoned, as I couldn't hear or smell anyone inside. It was eerie, a faint line of mist was coating the surrounding air in a white haze. I moaned a bit, twitching my ear flaps in worry.

Worry for Astrid.

Worry for the other dragon people.

Worry for Berk.

Worry for Gobber.

And worry for my dad.

And then- it happened.

A prickling on the back of my neck. An itch in my teeth. A tingling in my spines. I was not comfortable at all, for some reason, I felt an insatiable need to _get out of the way_! Though for what was beyond me.

I began to shift inside the cage, trying to get out, the chains holding my cage to the crane of the boat clinking as my movements caused the cage to sway, which only aggregated my stomach further, along with the tingling made by that thing blocking up my plasma shots.

Then I heard a low rumbling below the water, and I moaned in fear, wiggling in the cage and trying to find another way out. My ear plates flattened to my neck and I tightened my wings to my sides.

I growled in absolute terror as the water started to bubble and ripple, and a dark shape moved underneath. The movement caused a huge wave that sent the boat I was attached to. My cage swung back and forth like a pendulum, banging against the crane and sending vibrations through my skeleton.

The surface of the sea burst, and _she_ emerged. Dread spiked in my veins, my blood like a thousand needles and fear filled my stomach.

There was nothing I could do.

We're all doomed.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Stoick<span>_**

I was in my office when the shockwave hit.

I had been looking at the picture of Hiccup on my desk. It was of the boy a few weeks before his disappearance. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a viking skull on it and crossing his arms in an unamused posture, looking at the camera like it had insulted him.

I was the one taking the picture.

I don't remember what I had said, but he didn't like it, obviously. He was in a bad, bad place. Very dark. He preferred the machines to the company of people.

He felt hated.

He felt alone.

He felt lost.

And he felt like there had only been one way out before he had disappeared. I had read his journal after he was declared "Assumed dead," and found multiple entries saying he was about to off himself, immediately followed by a lame excuse each time.

He wanted to die.

He almost did die.

Then he became a survivor, apparently, making it on his own for nearly half a near before he finally succumbed. Doing that can harden a person, make him braver. And if Astrid's description of his enemies and battles were any indication, he didn't exactly scare easily.

But _I_ was his worst fear after being turned into such a powerful beast... What kind of a father was I?

And seeing him again, in a Gobber's daughter's room, stabbed up and... Altered, it was like seeing a second chance. A second, horrible chance, but still a chance. I wanted him back, I really did, but when the first thing you see of your son in a year is a pair of enormous wings and a long tail, that's... Disturbing.

Very disturbing. I had walked in, first seeing some reptilian creature alone with Astrid in her room, I had been ready for a fight. But then there had been the green eyes that had been accusing me for months.

Looking just like his mother's.

Stripping my essence bare and making me see myself for who I really am. Then I had to associate both the dangerous creature and my harmless son to the panicking, babbling mess he had dissolved into.

I messed up badly during our meeting. I was reserved, like usual. I didn't tell him what it was like to have him missing. To think I was the reason he died.

I saw his ghost for half a year, walking around and accusing me.

I... I had actually gone insane. I had gone insane at my son's supposed death. I did love Hiccup, I really, really did. But not once, not one single time in fourteen years did I ever once take the time to show it.

As soon as he resurfaced, I was gonna make it up to him.

I don't care if he had wings and a tail.

I don't care if he could turn into a monster.

I was shaken from these thoughts as the ground vibrated, my office shaking violently. We didn't get Earthquakes in Berk. Ever.

I stilled the desk with a hand and moved to the window.

And when I saw what was outside it, I froze.

On the shores of Berk was a monster.

It was as big as the mountain I lived next to, and ugly as heck. It had a large, rectangular head tipped with a horn, and teeth the size of me. Six hellish yellow eyes sat on top of its head, in front of a coral like crown.

I the body was massive and fat, with relatively small wings folded on top and a forest of red tipped spikes laid on its back.

The legs were big, and muscled, with mile long claws. It's comparatively short tail ended in a club the size of the building I was currently in. It was a dark blue-grey and was growling like a beast would while eyeing its prey.

"God help us," I mumbled in awestruck terror as I peered up at the monster.

This thing would be the death of us all, and all I could think was one thing:

Where's Hiccup?

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Astrid<span>_**

My face was itchy when I woke up. Like, waking up on a bet of straw itchy.

Then I discovered it was because I was on Odysseus's back.

His brown fur had made it up my nose too, so I pushed myself off the fuzzy Strike Class dragon and sat up, seating myself between his wings. The dragons, an indeterminable number of them, flew around us. I spotted a Hookfang, Barf and Belch among them, but not many others.

I rubbed my still numb bicep where I had been tranquilized and yawned. That stuff was strong. _Wait a second_, I thought. _I'm riding the wrong Strike Class_!

I shook my head a few times to clear it and rubbed my temples, scowling. It was very cold up here, so I lit my fire to provide myself with some warmth.

"Odysseus," I asked, pulling my legs up from his sides and having my knees meet my chin. Like Hiccup, he flew rather level.

**"It's actually Oliver," **Odysseus answered. **"But I like Odysseus better. Reminds me of the first time someone actually needed my help."**

I nodded. I'll play pity party with him later, but first things first.

"What happened?"

**"You guys got ambushed," **he said simply.

Ok, so Odysseus is a dragon of few words. Got it. I looked at the brown dragon underneath me with a contemptuous glare. He needed to explain a bit more, if he would. "Um, aaaaand?" I prompted.

**"And I managed to get you, Stokehead, Hookfang and the Zippleback out of there before you were out of reach."**

"What about Hiccup, Meatlug and Thornado?"

**"Already gone."**

I grimaced and twisted a fistful of fur in my small hands. "Why didn't you go back for them?"

**"I had my orders,"** was his response, to which I had to refrain myself from releasing the fire in my belly right into his fuzzy head.

I stood straight up, surprising him a bit. "He's your friend!"

**"He's my commanding officer."**

"Wha?" I blinked. "Never mind, I don't need to know. Just take me back there."

"**Hiccup gave me orders. Since he is a Superior Strike Class dragon, I have to obey those orders. He said make sure all the dragons evacuate as fast as they could. I imagine he ment evacuate you too."** His voice was unrelenting and even, and I folded my arms and groaned in frustration.

"You didn't happen to be a soldier before, did you?"

**"Irrelevant."**

"Urgh!" I knew better than to stamp my foot on a flying dragon's back, but it was tempting. Instead I settled for haughtily sitting down and crossing my legs, pouting a bit. A bit childish, yes, but a good way to release some frustration.

I grabbed a fistful of my hair and started tying it into its usual braid behind my head. As I twisted the strands around, I gave Odysseus a heated look that would have _withered_ Hiccup where he stood.

"So," I said, tying another part of the braid. "How did you do it? Rescue me, I mean."

He made a dry coughing sound, and realigned his shoulders. I shifted on my seat between his wings, keeping up my glare.

**"After I regained my memories, I decided to head back to say thank you before I carried out my orders. I smelled blood and hid. They were carting off Meatlug when I got there, Hiccup and the Thunderdrum were already gone. I managed to wake up the others and get them upright enough to fly away."**

He sighed.** "I went to get the dragons from the pens, but the Red Death got there first. ****A good number of them had frozen again, but the half you see here were fighting back. I managed to get them to follow me out of the place with the promise of safety. We're heading to the Himalayan mountains. We can survive there."**

My jaw dropped at this. "The Himalayas?! Why are we going up there?!"

**"A lot of the mountain range is unexplored and inhospitable to humans. To cold, and the air's to thin. But we don't get cold easy, and we have the same altitude capabilities of most aircraft. Best place to hide out, the place only we can reach."**

I growled. "Not what I meant," I said, tugging the last of my braid into my face. Bangs hung over my left eye, but it didn't matter. I felt like myself again.

I tossed the finished braid over my shoulder and planted myself back on Odysseus's neck. "I meant, why aren't we going back?"

It was his turn to look shocked, he stumbled in the air. **"W-what?!" **

"Why aren't we going back for Hiccup and the others? If it were him, he'd be racing at breakneck speeds to go back for you, and you two only just met."

The Strike Class dragon was not a believer of that theory.

**"Of course he wouldn't,"** Odysseus scoffed.** "He would keep flying. Like everyone does. Trust me, if it were anyone there, then he wouldn't come back. He would keep on flying away. He wouldn't look back. Not once."**

I was left gaping at him that he'd think that. That Hiccup was that self serving.

That made me mad.

How dare he?

How dare he think that of Hiccup. The Hiccup that would willingly take a lightning blast for me, who would put himself in the way of danger if it meant only he suffered. The Hiccup who hardly ever said anything shellfish or self centered.

Odysseus knew nothing.

I grabbed him by the fur of his head and pulled his face up to look me in the eyes, my gaze as hot as my fire, maybe even more so. His small pupils dilated in shock or fright, I wasn't sure which.

"I've known him half a year. I've lived with him, flown with him. He's my best friend. I know what that scaly moron would do in this situation, and a thousand and one Red Deaths would do well to tremble in _fear_ if anyone he cared about or made friends were hurt. He's as loyal as it is possible for any living thing to be, so I'm only gonna say this once, _Oliver_," I sneered. "Take. Me. Back!"

The wooly dragon seemed to think it over for a moment, not giving me an answer. Tensions were high as I waited. If he wouldn't take me back, then I would ether swim back or talk one of the other dragons into taking me there.

And then, Odysseus _roared_.

* * *

><p><strong><span><em>Berk<em>**

Dragons leaked out of the N.E.S.T. cave, Meatlug and Thornado included in their number. They began to circle around the Red Death, their pupil's narrowed into near nonexistent slits.

The monstrous dragon clawed her way to stand with her paws on Berk's cliffside, crushing some small buildings. She growled, the deep thunderous sound blowing between her teeth.

**"Kill them,"** she ordered the dragons under her command, glaring viciously as the metropolis in front of her, one which she could easily crush herself.

But the Red Death was a vain creature. She took her satisfaction in watching her goal played out before her. And her goal wasn't the extinction of the human race, oh no. It was so much more logical than that.

She didn't care what her creators had made her for. She was looking out for herself and nothing more. But she knew her place in the world was secure. She had an army of dragons and idiotic people at her command, and a body that could topple countries.

So what was the Red Death's endgame in all of this?

Oh it was such a simple thing.

So cruel.

So vain.

So selfish.

She wanted acknowledgement. The demon beast was tired of spending her whole life in the shadows, from the point where she was genetically altered as a toddler, to the betrayal of Finn Hofferson, up till now. No one knew she existed. No one except her subordinates.

That was going to change.

She was going to be _feared_, and _revered_. The great Dragon Queen, mistress over the superior species of planet earth.

The dragons raced to complete her order. Those with any free will left were to scared to act against her wishes, so they complied.

The reptiles descended upon the metropolis of Berk with fires raging.

The hurricane sirens started off. They were meant to be for storms, but right now that didn't matter. The general point was _run for your lives_! The streets flooded with humans, and there were two different mindsets in those masses.

Those that wanted to run.

And those that wanted to fight. Many men and woman proudly carried on their viking heritage by emerging from their homes with some form of armament, from firearm to battle-ax.

The school shook as a bright green Monstrous Nightmare clawed his way inside. People rushed to get away from the dragons snapping jaws as he shoved his head in through the roof, orange flames licking his hide.

The sound of a gunshot rang out, and the dragon's head snapped to the side in recoil of the hit.

The offender was none other than Gobber, a pistol in hand. His prosthetic was replaced by his own family heirloom. A battle-ax tied to his stump.

Monstrous Nightmare faced down viking descendant, nether backing down, until Gobber gritted his teeth and growled, "stay outta my school, ye Smaug wannabe."

The Monstrous Nightmare snarled, but behind the eyes were the thoughts of the Nightmare begging Gobber to help him. He didn't want to do this, he really didn't want to do this.

But his Queen had him like a puppet on a string.

So, against his mind's wishes, the body of the emerald Monstrous Nightmare lunged at the principal, who faced down the dragon without fear, firearm and battle-ax at the ready.

Elsewhere the large brown Stormcutter that had tried to flee was clawing her way into the mayor's house.

She was under heavy influence from the Red Death, and as soon as her claws broke the outer shell of the house, she poured a torus of fire inside.

Once the fire was stably burning, she smacked her lips and peered inside.

The rather large man that occupied it was not present.

Where was he?

She got her answer as the car in front started up.

The Stormcutter would have liked nothing more than to let him go, but her muscles were not her own as she spread her wings and took off in pursuit of the vehicle, four wings flapping to gain sped in the air.

The car was much faster than her take off, though, so when she lunged for it, her claws me only with cold asphalt. She brutally crashed into the ground, breaking the asphalt with the weight of herself and the force of her collision.

She got up and shook her head, but her target was already long since out of sight.

Relived at an excuse to break from her horrible mission, she gave a faint draconian smile and lifted off into the air to await further commands.

Around the city were incidents of this kind. Dragons crashing through buildings, ripping up barriers, and carrying off vehicles with people still inside. The bullets did no more than knock the dragons back a bit, and sharp weapons were only good in trained hands.

Berk was burning.

An the Red Death watched, pleased.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Stoick<span>_**

I pulled over outside Berk's harbor, two hundred miles from where the great beast was. The thing leaned. Against the shoreside, looking as its slaves tore my city to pieces.

I needed to find Astrid and Hiccup. Their little lair had been torn up, and with four wee dragons inside. There was no sign of my son or Gobber's daughter anywhere.

I slammed the door of the car behind me, my agitation fueling my aggression. "Hiccup!" I yelled, cupping my hands over my mouth. "HICCUP, SON!"

There was no answer, just the screaming of people dying in the city behind me, then I rubbed my eyes with my hand.

Who was I kidding.

He was probably smack dab in the middle of this, wreaking buildings and ending lives. It's not like we gave him much reason to love his own species. In fact, he's openly afraid of us. And it's natures rule than whenever an organism feels threatened by another living thing, it ether runs... Or kills it.

Hiccup probably took the second option.

And it was all my fault.

All my fault.

I searched the skies for his black form, the large wings and arrow like body zipping through the air towards his next...kill.

I didn't see him though, which was a relief. If I saw him up there, it would break me completely.

Instead the beast's ugly maw filled the sky, its enormous head filling up my field of vision. I looked at the dragons attacking the city. I could see the killing even from here.

One of the ones I think was called a Monstrous something or other, spread its fire over a line of rooftops, setting them ablaze. One of the fat ones that reminded my of a bee shoved a door open with it's nose, then braced itself against the ground. It's explosive shot erupted from the bear-trap like jaws and the house exploded from the inside out, fire coming out of every window.

The five of the ones with two heads filled a large building with their gas, before they lit it up.

There was nothing left of the building, just charred rubble and dust as the two headed dragons took back to the skies.

I bit my lip, and my fists shook in anger. This is Berk, my home, being destroyed right before my very eyes. I wouldn't stand for it, in any way, shape or form!

I growled under my breath and looked up at the monster that was the cause of all of this.

Then suddenly I noticed something. A fat-bee-dragon-thing that had eyes different from the other's. This ones had pupils the size of baseballs, and was headed straight for the monster's head with a determined look.

Of course. Like Hiccup, it had once been human.

But the strange thing was... When the dragon made contact with one of the beast's large yellow eyes, it flinched.

And during that one moment it wasn't focused on them, the dragons froze. They just _stopped_, completely. They ceased fire.

Then they tired to fly away. They madly tried to fly for the ocean, their wings beating furiously in an attempt to get away. Their pupils dilated and they roared in terror. Some of them were desperately crawling for freedom.

The realization hit me like a brick in the face: they didn't want this any more than I did. They didn't want to be here, they didn't want to kill.

They were just as scared as we were.

They were just as scared as Hiccup had been of me. I thought of his dilated pupils, his ear flaps folding like an abused dog, shielding himself with his wings as if they were the only thing thing that could save his life.

I. Was. Angry.

And more importantly, I noticed something. It wasn't focused on them. It wasn't _controlling_ them. But in an instant, after it swatted the fat dragon away, it took looked at the dragons attacking the city again. They went back to what they were doing. Attacking, killing, raiding.

She was the cause of all of this pain and suffering. And she could be _distracted. _

An idea formed in my head, one that Hiccup would be proud of. It would have to follow its dragons if they escaped... It could only control them if it was focused on them.

And the scales between its claws didn't look all that armored.

With a mix between a grimace and a clever grin, I stomped back to my car. As if sensing my intentions, it looked down at me with a low snarl.

Producing one of my own, I slammed my foot on the accelerator. The old Ford picked up with incredible speed and sped straight for her. The monster opened its mouth to fire at me, but the fat dragon came back and once again rammed its eye with its tail like an angry bee.

The dragon buzzed away with the bigger reptile distracted, my car moved in a blur towards her foot. I unlocked the door and prepared to jump as I approached.

I got closer.

It seemed to have forgotten about me.

Closer.

It turned its head back to the city, returning the flaming lizards to their previous occupations.

Closer.

It wasn't focused on me. It was still focused on controlling its charges.

I'd fix that soon enough, though.

With a final push on the gas pedal, I drove the car forwards, straight between its claws. I leapt out and landed on one of its ivory claws, which I quickly slid off of.

The vehicle hit the monster's sensitive skin between the claws like a high speed battering ram, the metal screaming and groaning like a living creature, glass shattering, engine bursting into flames.

It roared in pain and reared backwards, the sound of agony rolling across Berk and the ocean. It's cavernous jaw billowed with methane and it beat its tail into the water, causing a fishing boat in the distance to sway violently. I peered at it and could have sworn I saw a black thing in a cage swaying from the fishing crane.

I spotted a bruise forming on its paw as it lifted itself up, balancing surprisingly well on two legs, despite the rather ridiculous girth. Its roar bellowed loudly, and with a growl, it ignited its putrid flame.

The fire rolled through the air and caught the pathetic little fishing boat in the distance. That's when a roar sounded.

A roar of fear. It started low, but gradually became high pitched and drawn out, sounding like a mixture between a roar and and a human scream.

My eyes widened. I heard that scream half a year ago.

I had been the cause of that scream.

It was the terrified cry if the Night Fury.

"Oh no," I whispered, then ran to the edge of the cliff. "HICCUP!" Suddenly a loud rumble sounded behind me, and my blood ran cold. I slowly turned around to find myself at eye level with a massive yellow fang bigger than myself.

The monster was glaring at me with all six yellow eyes. I glanced around. There were few dragons left, most of them the ones who had been trapped in their engagements. Even now the lizards were little specks in the distance.

Victory. Berk was no longer burning.

But Hiccup was. And now... I was about to too.

The monster reared its head back, methane billowing in its throat. It narrowed its eyes and trained all six pupils on me. I looked up at it, unflinching.

"We'll go on then, beast, fight me!" I yelled up at it, raising my fists.

The fire erupted from the things jaws like a cloud from hell itself I had no time to run, no time to escape.

I was about to die. And so was Hiccup.

But never let it be said that I would go to my death like a coward. I looked my death in the face, not backing down. Stoick the Vast does NOT back dow-WHAT!

Suddenly I was grabbed by the shirt by a large brown blur, whisking me out of the way of the fire and into the air. I heard the beating of large wings above me, and all I could see was the passive-aggressive fuzzy face of a furry dragon.

**_Astrid_**

As it turns out, Odysseus is quite easy to win over after that roar, he had turned straight around and took me back to Berk.

Now it was time to depose this rotten queen! Then I had seen Stoick, stubborn as a Viking, distracting her so the dragons could get away.

Hiccup would be proud

I had urged Odysseus to go faster as Stoick got closer to being flame broiler Mayor, and the Woolly Howl had complied, folding his wings in and diving, pulling up seven feet from the sandy shore of Berk to seize Stoick by the shirt and lift him away

"Did you get him?" I yelled to Odysseus, who nodded in response. "YEAH," I shouted with enthusiasm, pumping my fist in the air. The Red Death roared at us and took a swing with one of her massive paws, but we flew right between her claws.

I grinned and gripped the Woolly Howl's fur tighter.

"Come on guys!" I yelled behind me. Following us were Hookfang, Barf, Belch and Stokehead. The holes in Hookfang's wings weren't impeding him too badly as he flew.

I crouched on Odysseus's back, my feet planted firmly on his shoulder-blades while I held tight to his neck fur.

We zipped over the Red Death, barrel rolling under her jaw while Stoick yelled in fright.

Barf and Belch arched over her eyes while Hookfang flapped in front of her to kick the Dragon Queen in the nose. Stokehead followed me and Odysseus under, roaring in elation.

Excellinor snarled at us and released another round of fire. Stokehead, Odysseus and I darted away, but unfortunately for Barf and Belch, Zipplebacks had smaller wings, so he couldn't dodge as well.

They threw themselves to the side, the plume of hellfire grazing Barf's end of the forked tail. **"WOA,"** the offended head yelped, and the dashed to the right as another blast came their way. I lost sight of them as they flew under the cliffs.

We found Meatlug doing hit and run maneuvers on Excellinor, but as soon as she spotted us, she buzzed up alongside me. Thornado was MIA, though. There had been no sign of the Thunderdrum since she and him parted ways when the Red Death ordered the attack.

Grimacing at the possibilities, I shook my head to clear them away. There was one big black idiot left to make an appearance. I jumped over Odysseus's side, hanging onto the dragon by the fur, and braced my feet against his leg.

I was no hanging on the dragon's side, looking down at Stoick, who was looking shellshocked at being dragged through the air by a fuzzy dragon. He gaped at Odysseus, then at me, then back to the dragon, his faded green eyes almost as big as a Night Fury's.

I rolled my eyes and put a hand on my hip. "Come on, sir. It's not as of you've never seen a dragon before," I said teasingly, smirking at the Mayor, who just shook his head and gaped some more.

_"Astrid?!"_

"The one and only," I laughed, and he shook his head in wonder. We landed on a building, Odysseus dropping Stoick ungraciously on the rooftop while I jumped down. The fuzzy dragon landed roughly on the edge of the building.

Stoick got up, rubbing his back and groaning.

"Astrid, how did-" he started

I held up a hand, readjusting my clothes from the flight. My head was fuzzy from the thin air, and my fingernails were kind of itchy. My bicep was still sore from the injection, and I overall felt slightly like crap, but I didn't care.

Stoick looked pale, his clothes dusty and torn a bit, but none the worse for wear. He was looking at me worriedly, occasionally sending contemptuous glances at the Red Death on the shore.

The other dragons had begun distracting her in any way they could. For some reason, she couldn't take control of them, or even freeze them like she did with Hiccup. She just stood there getting more and more pissed off as they bombarded her while she snapped at them.

Hookfang lit himself on fire to catch her attention, while Meatlug rammed into the side of her head. Barf and Belch blasted her from the sides, darting from one to the other as fast as their wings could pull them through the air.

The explosions to her sides sent her rocking, but she stayed on her feet.

Stokehead used his wings to cut at her armored scales, making her even angrier. Each movement of her back legs and tail sent waves across the sea. The little fishing boat in the distance was still on fire and swaying violently. I pitied its occupants.

Meatlug went in for another attack, but was swatted by the Red Death's bruised paw. She careened into the ground, bouncing a few times before hitting the remains of a building.

Excellinor roared and released a bout of flame. The fire went into the buildings, burning everything inside and melting the structure in the process.

Meatlug, thankfully, was dragged out of the way by Barf and Belch before she could be harmed.

Hookfang went in for another attack, his fire spewing from his maw, until she hit him with the horn of her nose. The blunt ivory structure winded the Monstrous Nightmare and sent him tumbling to the Queen's head, returning to human form.

I shook my head and turned from the fight, not wanting to see them loose. I didn't want to see them die.

I turned back to Stoick, who was still looking at Odysseus with wonder. He shook his head and turned to me. "Lass... You were riding a dragon," he said with a lot of incredulity in his voice.

"Yes, I was," I answered matter-of-factly.

"A dragon? Gave you a ride?" His voice was skeptical. "He sure ye didn't train him?" He raided an eyebrow.

"No," I denied vehemently, stamping my foot. I crossed my arms and gave him a seething glare. He flinched and backed up, raising his hands in surrender.

"I'm his friend!"

"Friend eh? Then ye ride Hiccup do ye?"

My face lit up red, and my jaw dropped, my fangs pouncing in front of my eye as I froze. "Wha-" I stuttered, the embarrassment and shock making the words stick like glue in my chest. "Bu-NO!" I drew my lips together into an indignant hybrid if scowl and grimace.

He raised a 'no-nonsense' eyebrow at me, and I growled in frustration, clutching at the air as if I could strangle the conversation. "What is it with you Haddocks?! There is a crisis going on down there and you want to discuss wether or not your son and I go flying?!"

I could hear Odysseus chuckle behind me. Stupid dragon.

He continued the look.

"Ok, fine, yes, but I don't 'ride' him. I fly with him!"

How does this family manage to turn any and all situations extremely awkward or humiliating?!

"But, let's focus on that later. We need to concentrate on bringing that thing down, and the best one qualified is currently missing."

He tilted his head in confusion, not quite understanding.

Yup, definitely Hiccup's dad. Both brilliant men and extraordinary idiots at the same time, and too stubborn for their own good. I wiped my eyes with my hands and groaned.

"Hiccup," I said dryly, and his eyes widened in response. "You have any idea where he is, sir?"

He nodded and pointed to a hill flaming fishing boat in the distance. "Down there. I-I heard him. I think he's trapped."

I peered in its direction, and was horrified by what I saw.

From here, it was just a little black dot struggling inside a fishing net. But I could hear his cries of distress from here. I scowled. He would survive the fire, no problem. But the crane, and his cage with it, would sink into the sea.

And he wasn't equipped with gills.

He would drown. He would _die_ under there. The mighty Night Fury, defeated by water.

_Not gonna happen!_ He had saved me plenty of times. And I was coming a bit closer to fulfilling my debt by raising my tally of times I saved him to three.

Plus, I couldn't stand the thought of my Hiccup's life, after everything he endured, ending small and terrified under water as he tried to claw his way to freedom. The thought actually almost brought tears to my eyes, but I quickly blinked them out.

He wouldn't die today.

Not if I could help it!

I clambered back to Odysseus, motioning for Stoick to follow. The large man complied, and I could hear the Woolly Howl groan in strain as 400 pounds of man was added to his burden.

That would show him for laughing at my discomfort!

We passed the Red Death on our way down. Hookfang had regained conciousness, and was now stomping Excellinor in the eyes. He laughed as he smashed his heel into Her middle right peeper. "I can't MISS," he yelled happily. "What's wrong, old lady? Got something in your eye? And you call yourself a queen? Pah, even Belch is more queenly than you!"

**"HEY!" **The Zippleback protested as he zipped past his comrade, who grinned. "If the boot fits, buddy!"

Both heads of the green dragon groaned and they attempted to catch her attention again. She snapped her huge jaws at the Zippleback, but they flapped out of the way.

Stokehead flew over her back, slicing through a few spikes, before coming up over the head. One of his razor sharp wing edges cut into her skull, but it wasn't even enough to make her bleed.

As we passed them, Odysseus fired off his machine-gun like blasts of plasma, the rounds exploding against her neck and making her reel from the force of them. Excellinor saw me and Stoick aboard her newest assailant, and growled, swinging at us with her huge paw.

I gripped the dragon tighter, holding on for dear life, and I could feel Stoick do the same behind me as Odysseus shot upwards, his wings folding in as he barrel rolled between her claws, the spinning making me dizzy,

His wings popped open, and we fell a bit. He kicked off from her crown to propel himself forward a bit more, before making a steep turn towards the shoreline of Berk.

He couldn't take that much weight _and_ do fancy flying, I realised.

We had to leave Stoick behind.

We flew down to the ground, dropping Stoick off near the docks. "Go help Berk. I'll save Hiccup," I reassured him as I pushed him off of the dragon.

He tried to protest, opening his mouth to deliver the argument, but could do nothing as Odysseus literally bucked him off. He landed on the ground a few feet away, shaking his head to clear out the shock of the crash.

He got up and looked at me, shocked.

"I said I got this Stoick," I said with venom as we turned to fly off on our self given rescue mission. "Besides," I said, trying to sound softer. Not my strong point, though, so I probably ended up sounding even more aggressive, "I don't think it would be a good idea for you to come. He's still... Afraid of you."

_He still doesn't trust that you don't hate him._

"It's better this way. Trust me." I gave him a look that was both pleading and apologetic, then turned to tap Odysseus on the head.

I left him there, watching me go off to save his son from drowning.

And if I said that I wasn't sorry for leaving him like that, well, I'd be lying.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Hiccup<span>_**

I twisted in my cage in a panick, fear searing every nerve in my body. The fear of the queen was half of it, but the other fear was when the boat lost its ability to stay above water and sunk into the water below-dragging _me_ with it!

I slammed my sides against the metal confinement, earning only sore shoulders and small dips in the bars. That didn't really surprise me, I needed more force than what I could gather in here to break this cage.

Man, I need to learn a way to counter the thing that was making me unable to fire off any plasma blasts!

I growled and looked at the monster battling on my home.

My home!

How dare she!? I would kill that soulless monster!

I wasn't kidding ether. I know why she placed me here. I had a perfect view of dragons dumping bodies into the sea, of dragons descending on the city and soaking it in the blood of humans.

I would have no qualms about killing her whatsoever! Suddenly she heat the water with her tail again, and a wave tossed the boat into the air.

The sad little vessel crashed back to its salty waters roughly, my cage swinging like mad from its chain as I clutched the sides with my claws. The fire had been put out my our splash crash, but the boat was already filling with water.

I could hear it.

And then-

"There!" My Astrid's voice said. Astrid was here!? No!

Apparently yes, as she dropped into the deck behind me. I twisted and saw her ride was none other than my new dragon friend.

**"Odysseus, you twit," **I shouted up to him, an angry look on my face. **"You were supposed to get everyone, and that includes her, to safety, not join in this battle royal!"**

**"Hey, you wanna argue with her?!"**

Good point.

But still.

I opened my mouth to retort, but Astrid interrupted. "Hiccup, shut up," she commanded. "Odysseus, help the others."

The brown, fir covered dragon complied flapped away, heading back to battle the monster.

Astrid turned to me. "Ok, buddy," she said, her voice almost instantly gaining a concerned, calming tone. "I'm gonna get you out of there, don't you worry." She ran to the crane controls and had them drop my cage on the deck of the boat.

"Ok," she whispered can running to my cage. Her shoes splashed water as the boat went lower and lower. "Hold on, bud."

"Astrid!" I scolded, turning human again. "What are you doing here?!"

"Saving your life!" She retorted angrily, trying to wrench the bars open. "Argh, what's this thing made of?!"

"They made it to contain dragons, so probably something pretty strong." She rolled her eyes and kept tugging at the bars, trying to get them to open.

Suddenly Excellinor seemed to have taken an interest in our activities, because she interrupted our battle to glare at us. **"Oh no you don't!" **She roared angrily and swung her tail.

It was just long enough that the club smashed into the boat. My cage flew into the air in a wide arc, Astrid watching in horror as I splashed into the water bellow, clutching the bars of my deathtrap desperately.

Water filled my nose and ears, but I held my breath in an attempt to gain a few minuets. The device blocking my plasma was still attached and working, annoyingly. I glared at it, and beat my tail against my confinement.

There was a splash, and I looked up with dread as the blond love of my life joined me underwater.

_No, no Astrid, don't! Don't die for for me, _I thought desperately as she reached my cage and began to uselessly tug at the bars again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Her air was running out fast, the fight in her sapphire eyes fading as her lungs collapsed from exhaustion. Her thing but strong arms drifted aimlessly in the water, her body floating back a bit.

I wanted to scream, but instinct wouldn't let me open my mouth.

_ASTRID!_

I clawed desperately against the prison, now not only to save my life, but hers too.

Then suddenly she was yanked away, faster than I could follow. The feet of her boots famished above the water, and I calmed down a bit.

I sunk to my knees, bowing my head and folding my wings, ear flaps dropping in acceptance.

I was about to die.

And that was ok.

Maybe now I'd find some peace.

_SPLASH!_

Eh?

I looked up to see the shock of my life- Dad. He was there, looking at me with Fire in his eyes. Determined fire.

I began frantically pointing to the top of the cage, at the device that was keeping my plasma in.

Dad, Dad please, I thought. If your ever gonna listen to me, do it NOW!

He saw where I was pointing, and he nodded in affirmation. He-he was actually listening? Understanding?

Incredible for him.

He reached up and took hold of the device, yanking the thing off with a strong pull. As soon as he did, the tingling in my gut left, and I went Night Fury, the transformation taking only an instant.

I studied my Dad. Through the water, I could smell his grief, and his regret. I could smell his need for forgiveness.

And his face screamed a thousand apologies. I dilated my eyes as wide as the would go, and gave him s gummy grin as water invaded my mouth.

_I forgive you. _

For abandoning me. For ignoring me. For alienating me. For **disowning** me.

_I forgive you._

The plasma in my belly swelled, and-

BOOM!

In an instant, I broke the surface of the water, carrying Dad in my claws. Astrid was in a two person speed boat, her mouth dropping open as I dropped my dad into the seat beside her and landed on the hood.

**"Come on," **I called to Astrid. **"I'm gonna need you if she takes control again!"**

She grinned broadly, her slightly gapped teeth showing in delight. "You got it buddy!" She said, and clambered up onto the hood to join me.

"Wait!" Dad said, and grabbed my tail. "H-Hiccup."

I looked at him as Astrid hoisted herself onto my neck. "If-_when_ you come back down, will ye come home? I-I'm so sorry, for everything I put you through. I-I promise. To be a better father. I'm willing to take it all. Wings, tail, dragons. All of it. I just want me son back."

I looked at him. His heart was going a mile an hour in hope.

And with one quick twitch of my neck, I nodded.

Relief flooded his face. "You don't have to go up there."

I shrugged, trying to say, oh well, what can you do?

I opened my wings, but he grabbed my tail again. "Hiccup," he breathed. "I'm _honored_ to call you my son."

I'll admit, I got a bit choked up on emotion. I was grateful dragon eyes couldn't cry, because I would be dishing out tears like a baby. My cooed gratefully, the snapped my wings open, 48 feet of black membrane taught in the brackish air.

With a WHOUM, I lifted off in a vertical take off. Astrid's legs squeezed my neck and she was gripping some the protrusions on my head as we climbed highEr into the sky.

I shot towards Berk. My home. My charge. And to where my mortal enemy now stood unchallenged as the other dragons flew away.

I shot over a street full of refugees, and I heard their shouts and cheers.

"Ha ha! Go kick 'em up the tail for me, lass!" Gobber cheered, and then added "Do'nt forget to shoot her in the face for me too lad!"

I glanced down at my godfather and roared as loudly and as boisterously as I could, and Astrid yelled at the top of her lungs. I climbed a bit, and studied the small structures on Excellinor's shoulders.

**"You thinking what I'm thinking?"** I grinned.

"She has wings," my best friend remarked.

**"Let's see if she can use them?"**

"Bring it on!"

I shot upwards again, my wings pumping in circular movements. Astrid was gripping my like a vice, but I didn't care.

I twisted around, folding my wings as close as they would, and we shot downward with astonishing speed. A high pitched scream filled the air.

_Skreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_

Plasma built up inside me, and I let it gather in my throat. I began to pull up slightly, and we shot by the Red Death like a bullet. As we did, I released my plasma shot. The purple-blue fire lit up like a miniature colored star, her head disappearing entirely.

She lost balance and tumbled to her side, crashing into the sea with the whole left side of her face blackened.

She laid still for a moment, breathing. She didn't even twitch.

What? No way it could be that eas-

Her wings moved open, snapping taught and defacing a cliffiside. She rumbled in hate as she glared at us, pushing herself upright, the gave the loudest, most deafening roar I'd ever heard in my life.

"Ok, I think that did it," Astrid commented, and I nodded. I began to freeze up like I did at the tower, but my wings didn't stop moving.

"Is she trying to take control," she asked in a worried tone, laying a hand on my forehead gently. I was soothed a bit by the contact, and managed to nod quickly. With a gentle tug, my body began responding to her movements. I still had control of my head, somewhat. I could fire off my plasma blasts and look were I wanted, but I just couldn't seem to steer unless she directed me.

She pulled on my neck and I began to climb into the air. We arched and looped once to where we were flying level once again, and the sound of heavy wings filled my ears. The air sounded like drums as Excellinor's massive wings beat at the air.

Astrid and I became one mind in the air. It's almost like she knew what I wanted to do.

We flipped in the air to face the massive blue and red dragon, and shot forwards at lightning speed. I roared in elation as we we got closer, and ignited the plasma in my blood. My skin and scales began to glow as I became supercharged.

Upon our approach, her head lunged forward, and attempted to trap me within the terrible teeth, but I opened my wings and my friend pulled to the right while pushing down.

"Yeah!" Astrid yelled as I corkscrewed around her neck.

On or second loop, I opened my mouth and let loose a plasma blast that sent her reeling to the side, stumbling in the air.

Her clubbed tail splashed in the water, but she managed to keep aloft.

From my back, a line of white fire erupted from my best friend and seared the Dragon Queen's shoulder blades.

She roared and we pulled away, Astrid's legs tightening on my neck as she pulled us into an intense free-fall. We tumbled wing-over-wing towards the sea below.

The Red Death's jaws snapped on the air where we had been, and we pulled up to blast her in the jaw with plasma. The explosion rang in the air, and her head snapped upwards from the force of the blow.

We rocketed towards the sky, the attack shriek whistling through the air as we flew. I pumped my wings a few times, and as we past her I shot three plasma blasts in quick succession into her side

BANGBANGBANG! Half of her body was engulfed in plasma, smoke and fire, and she stumbled, almost dropping out of the air. Our corse sent in an arc over her wing, and I roared, **"Come and get me, fatty!"**

Excellinor roared in indignation and began to furiously pump her wings up and down, ascending into the heavens with us.

Astrid shifted on my back, braking her spine against my head and perching on one of my triangular spine like a trapeze artist. I split them to give her more foot room, to which she muttered a quiet "Thanks" in my ear.

There was a loud whizzing as her spikes zinged through the air, back down towards my enemy. The Red Death suddenly have a loud sound of pain, and I twisted my head downwards to discover that the front two left eyes, and the rear right one, were now shut tight, little leaks of blood coming out of them.

There was more whizzing, and lore shrieks of agony s a barrage of spikes flew through the air and impaled themselves into the Red Death's tongue and nostrils, cutting thought the unarmored flesh easily. Near black blood flowed from the open wounds, but that only served to enrage her more.

I snorted passively and returned my attention to the front, and we burst through the clouds, the monster not long after us. My natural coloring blended me into the dark overcast setting, she had a hard time seeing me, and I flew with my belly to her to his Astrid's brighter colors.

She circled for a long time, looking around and snarling. Blood dripped from her wounds. Her three remaining eyes looked around with hateful glares.

She snarled once, and I whooshed past her head, and Astrid fired on her head, the massive burst of magnesium flame pushing Excellinor sideways in the air.

With a loud roar, we bolted away from her back into the cloud cover.

We twisted back around to emerge from behind.

BAM! One giant hole in her wings!

We flew straight through it, right under her belly. Astrid launched her spikes into the unarmored underside, then back into the safety of the clouds below. Excellinor roared in anger, her transmitter chip sending her hate and rage straight into Astrid and I's skulls.

I roared, taking the fury as my own. She was the cause of my condition!

BOOM! Another hole in her right wing.

My loss of a leg!

BANG! Hole one in her left one.

Astrid's suffering this past half year.

BAM! BAM! BOOOOM!

Three more holes in her wings, big and gaping. Her eyes were scrunched up in pain and anger, and she was barely staring aloft.

**"DIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"** She roared, methane fire spewing from her throat like a fountain, rushing over her mutilated and pincushioned tongue. I flapped to avoid it, it the trail for fire got right in my way.

Astrid yanked to the side, and I was sent into a sideways spin like some demented frisbee.

It wasn't enough, though. Astrid screamed in pain, a sound that was like a spear to the chest for me, and I felt something warm and runny on the right side of my neck.

Then I felt something warm and _wet_ on my head as she pressed her face into the ridges on my forehead. She was actually _crying_ in pain.

**"Astrid!"** I cried.** "Are you ok!?"**

She sucked in a quick breath, and I could hear her puffing in and out though her nose, trying to dull the agony. But her right leg didn't feel good against my neck. It was too hot, to small, to wet to be ok. "Yeah," she whimpered, a sound that quickly turned into a wounded animal's snarl. "Let's kick her ass!"

**"You got that right!"**

I nodded, and went into a steep jackknife dive, plunging right through one of the holes in her wings I had made.

"Come on," Astrid screamed. "Is that the best you can do, ya glorified overfed newt!"

**"PATHETIC!" **I shrieked.

The two eyes left on the right side of her head narrowed, and she snapped at us. I was so tired and Astrid could barely pull, she almost got us, her teeth grazing my tail fin and drawing a little blood.

I went done into a terminal dive, bursting out of the clouds at top speed, Excellinor right behind me.

She grunted, eyes trained on me and Astrid, who I heard squeak in pain as she eased her legs back to lay on her belly, her calves straddling my spines. I nudged her afflicted leg with one said spine.

Yup. Something definitely seriously wrong with it.

But I couldn't worry about it now. No, right now I needed to focus on killing this beast. Excellinor said it herself. Anything human in her had perished long ago. That had been the skin of a dead woman, worn by a demon.

Panda that demon dies now!

Then the ground came into view. We were still directly above Berk!

**"NO, nononononononononono NO!" **I yelled loudly, but it was now or never. I heard gas hissing behind me, and I quickly thought to tell Astrid the idea, but apparently she and I were on the same wavelength, and she whispered in my head flap, "Come on buddy, come on buddy, we're good. J-just a bit longer. Your good. S-stay with me!"

I nodded as quickly as I could. The Red Death had long since stopped constricting my cognitive abilities, but I couldn't seem to make myself turn around and blast. I just couldn't. Maybe it was the fact we'd be crashing on my home, maybe it was the fact I couldn't make myself end a life.

No. I _wouldn't_ kill.

And now was _not_ the time for wouldn't. If I let her live, she would continue this. She was too dangerous to stay alive. She wasn't human anymore.

B-but nether was I. At least, not fully.

I had to kill her.

I wouldn't kill her.

I had to.

I wouldn't.

She took a deep breath behind me and prepared to fire. To end my life. The and Astrid's.

ASTRID! She would kill Astrid and everyone I know! I pictured Astrid burned, Gobber crushed, Dad eaten, Fishlegs mauled.

I pictured Berk in ruins, dragons continuing their conquest of the world against their will.

That was it. I had to kill the Red Death.

I had to kill Excellinor.

I _would_ kill Excellinor. I would kill the Red Death, the Dragon Queen, and whatever else she calls herself.

I twisted and shot the blast _straight down her methane-filled throat! _

Her eyes widened in shock and horror as we fell. Her skin started to burst, fire brimming out from under her scales. Noxious fumes sprayed from the dying dragon, making my vision hazy.

The Red Death shuddered as her scales began to disintegrate, the membrane of her wings dissolving with each passing second. She growled, and fire dreamed behind her. She was about to burst. A roar caught in her throat, and her body swelled. She took in one last intake of breath, and muttered her final words:

**"Damn you... Hiccup."**

With that, she exploded in a giant starburst, head and flames shooting everywhere and in all directions, noxious gasses sprawling in a giant cloud. They flew downwards with us, eating at the air they past.

I felt Astrid's head fall limply on my head, her arms hanging uselessly off my sides as we fell. With the adrenaline rush gone, I couldn't summon the energy to fly us to safety.

My wings were to tired to pull up, the joints felt like they were burning, and my passenger was barely awake.

Astrid moaned on my back. I was barely outrunning the fires as I fought for consciousness against the toxic fumes around us. We were headed for the old house on the top of the mountain. The one that looked like a boat, that was rumored to on e belong to a viking wise woman.

I bucked Astrid, sending her small body flying into the air, then intercepted her, wrapping her up in my wings and tucking my head over her to shield her from the fire as it finally caught up with us.

I felt the flames searing around me. I felt Astrid scream inside my wings as some fire got to her wounded leg, making it even worse.

I felt myself crash into the mountain, destroying the old viking home and taking some rock with me as I fell towards the city below. I untucked my had for a second, and my hazy vision was greeted by the double sight of a quickly approaching building.

I felt the glass shatter, the building break from impact.

But I was so tired, I did _not_ feel myself hit the ground. I was already unconscious.

**I LIED. THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER! HA!**

**But FINALLY! Ohhhhhh man, this took so long. I wanted to update sooner, but massive writers block and depression and stress were working against this chapter's completion. THANK YOU SANDY AND ARSENIC SULFUR (AKA PernsknickKty, HEHEHEHEHEH)**


	15. Mending the Bonds

**The conclusion to Guardian Night Fury. **

**Warning: this chapter has a bit of religious opinion in it. It does not reflect my own views, the words just came to me. I will not reveal my own views on this, but feel free to skip it. I just wanted to convey how much bitterness Hiccup is holding in and how much pain he was in. No flames on that.**

**Thank all of you for reading GNF. Also, I revamped my ideas for the sequel. It's now called "They Guardian's Regrets." I also hope to have "Gift of the Guardian up by Christmas. If anyone has any ideas how to translate Gift of the Night Fury to the GNF universe, PM me. **

**Review replies:**

**Silverwolves: maybe**

**A Bright Light: thanks, that means soooooo much. Epilogue is here!**

**Mikowmer: Thank you!**

**a random person: errrmmmmmm**

**JediKnightMarina: I enjoyed writing chapter 9 and thank you**

**Sheppard741: thank you. Thank you so much.**

**PernsnicKety: (: **

**HICCUP HAS SECRETS**

_**Hiccup**_

I was warm when I woke up. Because Astrid was still nestled in my wings. She was curled up into a ball, right up against my thick, scaly neck. My throat was damp with a short supply or painful tears. She was holding them in as best she could, but she must have been in excruciating pain to get even this out if her.

I wasn't in the best condition myself. Patches of skin and scales were missing, and blood was staining splotches of the rest of me. My wings burned and my bones ached, and my whole tail felt like it was a bag full of acid, and the sockets for my teeth had a metallic taste to them.

I groaned and slowly moved my head, scraping broken glass and rubble as I moved and slowly slid my tongue in and out of my mouth, moistening it and trying to clear out to taste in my teeth holes. I tested the viability in my tail by thumping it against the ground, then wiggled my secondary and tail fins.

Nothing was broken, I just felt like crap. Really... Really bad crap. Monkey crap. Yeah... That's a good way to decide it. Monkey crap. I felt like monkey crap.

I opened my wings and peered at the girl inside. I couldn't only see the golden top of her head, but she looked and sounded bad. Something warm and wet was still where her right leg should be, and I was putting two and two together the moment I felt it.

What it implied broke my heart. She was probably going to loose the limb. All because I wanted to have her with me when I took down the Queen. All my fault. All my damn fault AGAIN! She was hurt because of _me! _I love her and I hurt her! I took the strongest person I've ever now, and now look at her.

I gave her limp form a little squeeze and rocked on my side. She was shaking badly in her troubled sleep, so I pet the top of her her head with my nose, trying to make her relax. It... Would only hurt more if she was struggling. I should know.

Ash and mist floated in the air around us, as well as a hint of the gas that was released when the Red Death blew up. I pushed the memory from my mind. I didn't want to think about that.

I didn't want to think about my first, and hopefully only, kill. It was the ultimate shame for me. I swore a long time ago that I wouldn't, but I just did. When I first tasted Alvin's blood I _promised_ myself that I wouldn't go all the way. That I would never kill.

The night I ran I made that promise. And tonight a life ended because of me. I shot the plasma that ended Excellinor's life. I was the one responsible for her death.

_But_, a little voice inside me said, one that I recognized as what remained of the personality I had adopted for months before Astrid brought me back, Toothless, _she_ _was hated by thousands. And would have caused the deaths of millions. I saved so many lives__by ending hers._

That's no excuse.

_Maybe it is. I have sort of an... Over active conscience, don't I. Blaming myself. Always taking responsibility, even if the criminal party deserves the punishment. _

Maybe its just active enough, considering how many are dead or changed because of my actions. I just added direct _murder_ to my list of sins.

_It's not murder. I saved them all. _

I killed. I could have saved her. Forced her to give up... Lock her up, cut off her wings and tail, do SOMETHING other than go all the way.

_And then she would have come back bigger, better and badder. Look, if this is about what happened to Heather-_

NO! It's not.

_Are you sure? Then is it about Jack? Or Merida? Or Rachel? Or Fin, maybe Fergus? Or how about Elsa, Anna and Kristof? Hiro? Hmmmmmm. All those people TRUSTED me, and now they're ether dead or worse because of me. The night I ran, and the night I changed, they weren't the same. I think I've forgotten that. I've forgotten the sacrifices people made and the lives that ended so mine would go on. Or maybe I just want to forget what I've done. _

Hey! I don't mention those things. There are things I don't want to tell Astrid, yes, things I forgot about during my stint as you, Toothless, but I let that go. Astrid is my penance-

_Yes, yes I chose my punishment. Oh, and it's a good one. Nice hours, fun occupation. Good way to take out the urge to hurt things, oh spend every, single, day with a girl you love with all your heart and soul. But I think, somewhere deep, deep down, I know that. I don't get to choose when and where my debt is paid. But this isn't one of them. This is one of the things that absolves them. This is your penance. Watching the girl I love suffer, and stoping more from doing the same. That's how I make up for what I did. _

So now Astrid has to get hurt to right my wrongs?

_Maybe she does. _

No, she doesn't. She doesn't deserve this. It should be me under the burner. But it's her loosing the leg. I deserve to die!

_And how would Astrid, Gobber and Dad react to me committing suicide?! They care about me. All of them do. _

I snorted, ruffling Astrid's hair. Yeah right. They'd be the only ones.

_This argument with myself is pointless. She need's to go to the ER. NOW!_

I looked down at Astrid's limp form in my wings, shivering like mad, and that warm, wet, too-small something where her leg was was not good. Not good at all. And she was loosing a lot of blood and_ oh God why does her leg feel as thin as a stick?! _That's not natural. That's not right. That's not good.

I opened my wings, every muscle fiber in my body burning in agony but I ignored it. I scrambled to my feet, Astrid lolling on the ground. I tried not to look at her leg. I tried so hard.

God, the fire had been so intense, and... And I knew as good as anyone how easily skin was broken, nerves and bone gone. But her leg felt like most of the flesh had been burned away. I didn't want to look at it, I didn't want to see the consequence of taking Astrid in the air with me.

Her leg was ruined, no matter what they did to it. She loved running. She loved sports, the outdoors, playing in the snow, flying with me in the air. None of those things would be the same now. I had broken her. I had flown her too close to the fire and she literally got burned.

Just like all the others had.

I'm a monster. I'm no better than the Red Death. I'm a killer. At least she was honest about it, and didn't have some internal debate with a semi moral-less alternate personality named after her pet. She knew exactly what she was, and it's time I acknowledged what I was. A thing. A monster. I didn't deserve to be alive!

I shook my head. No, I couldn't focus on that now. That didn't matter now. All that did matter was getting my Astrid help. I wasn't my own person anymore. The rest of my life would be spent making this up to her. Oh, god she was loosing a lot of blood.

I picked her up by the back of her shirt in my teeth, and my wing muscles screamed in agony as I opened them up, shooting into the air and frantically trying to remember my way to the hospital. I dropped her for a second before catching her with the claws of my left paw.

**"Please don't die Astrid,"** I cooed mournfully to her. **"Please, please don't. I- I love you. If you survive, I'll find a way to tell you. You can hate me, you deserve to hate me. I deserve for you to hate me. _I_ hate me. But I love you. Y-your not dying here. Your not dying now. I swear, if you die, I'm gonna kill myself. I'll-I'll go fly headfirst into the ocean. I can't swim very well, and water-to-air takeoffs are nearly impossible to pull off. And I can't swim in human form. You need two legs to swim right, or at least the artificial one would need to be made for swimming. I don't own one of those. Just please, please, please don't die!"**

I flapped my wings, my head swinging from side to side, looking for the big H that was the hospital's helicopter pad. I had seen it many times from the air, and I searched around frantically for it.

I was in hell. Everywhere I looked, there was Excellinor's armor or a claw, or some piece of her that hadn't been burned up when I killed her. A tooth was impaled into a building not far from me. What I was sure was part of her tail was lying on the ground, taking up a whole street. One of her red spiked was right next to where Astrid and I had landed.

Fighting the lump in my throat I continued my search. I could hear ambulances calling out, people yelling, chaos bellow, and everywhere. My eyes scanned the rooftops.

Arrgggg! When had the hospital become so damn hard to find. I pilfered my medicinal supplies from there often enough that I should know its location like the back of my hand _and_ the back of my paw!

I flapped my wings rapidly, soaring over the city, Astrid hanging limply and bleeding in my claws and myself only minuets away from being the same. My vision was hazy and my flaps were weak. I was steadily approaching the border between flying and gliding, and then it would only be a matter of time before gliding became falling.

Wait a second, AMBULANCES! Ambulances! I don't need a hospital, I could find one of those... Before I passed out in less than sixty seconds, that is. Maybe. Possibly. Hopefully. Optimally.

I began following the sound of the emergency vehicles, tracking down one on Raven Drive, which was one of the furthest places away from where I was as could be!

The ambulances on Berk were bright yellow, which made it easy to see in the darkness. As soon as the medical vessel was in sight, my wings went numb and I was headed straight for a crash landing.

I roared as loudly as I could, telling people to clear the way, and threw Astrid on my back. She landed on my back with a thump as my flight took a downwards incline. My eyelids became led and I couldn't bring myself to move another muscle as I headed straight for the bright yellow vehicle, and crashed into it.

The roof caved under my wight, leaving a Night Fury-shaped dent in the top of the room portion of the ambulance. It screamed to a halt, and the drivers clambered out, looking for what had hit them. I moaned weakly and arched my back to surrender my passenger, before going limp, letting sleep overtake me again, blood still leaking out from under me.

The last thing I felt before I passed out was Astrid's comforting weight and warmth leave my back, then everything became as dark as my scales. But my alternate personalities were still at work in my head.

Oh, _personalities_, as in plural? Yes. After Hiccup there had been Toothless. But before Toothless, there was Henrik.

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>11 Months Ago, the night Hiccup changed<span>**_

_I looked at Astrid's picture on the computer. Her long hair was tied back in a pony tail, and she wore a smile that didn't reach her pretty blue eyes at all. She was very pretty. _

_Alvin's limp and bloody form moaned behind me, and I whipped him with my tail to shut him up. _

_She was next. I-I couldn't let that happen. She would feel that pain! I would be her guardian from that pain. That suffering! _

_I ripped the door open with my teeth and bounded down the hall, the cool air tingling against my fresh scales. It was weird. It was wrong. It was scary. It was terrifying. _

_My hands were paws now. There were huge wings attached to my back, and I had a tail. I couldn't balance on my legs any more, so I was reduced to running on all fours. It was humiliating and traumatizing. That, and the sharp, metallic taste of blood in my mouth, the warm, gooey feel of it on my... My claws and scales as I ran, I thought I was about to cry, but tears weren't coming. The same couldn't be said for the overwhelming concoction of grief, confusion, shame and humiliation welling inside my chest. _

_I stumbled around on unfamiliar legs, paws slamming against the ground in a **very** un-stealthy way as I clambered my way around, trying to find a way out. _

_What was my name?! How did I get here? Who was I? Why was I here?! __**What am I?! **These questions rang through my skull and tortured me for answers. I bit my lip-or tried to, since I couldn't find my teeth. _

_I needed to find that girl. I-I needed to protect her! I was being urged by some unknown part of me to protect her-heck, I didn't even know this girl's name! But I followed the urge, nevertheless. _

_I accidentally body-slammed the wall and stumbled a bit, shaking my head and giving my new wings a small flap, making the air whoosh around __me. I took a deep breath in through my nose._

_I-I could smell fire. Fire burning. And-was that nitrogen? _

_I cocked my head to the side, one of my new ear flaps rising a bit and vibrating at it collected the sound-waves and amplified them. It sounded like... Whispering. And digging. _

_I started to run as best I could, stumbling over the doubled number of locomotive limbs, but you and whatever was perusing me easily caught up to my unsteady gait. I fell on my face, my wings splaying out to my sides. _

_Suddenly the ground burst open. A gigantic, spike-covered serpentine figure jutted from the ground, small wings flailing and making a quiet shriek. It had a large head framed in horns, large nostrils, and a horn between its milky white, protruding eyes. The mouth was wide open revealing at least a dozen rows of sharp, rotating teeth._

_The next to come looked like Nightmare, only with protrusions in the back of its head and nose, as well as being three times the size of a Monstrous Nightmare, and possessing a pair of large wings. It's scales produced a bright golden glow that nearly blinded me. It glared down at me with large red eyes and hissed in aggression. My ear plated folded down onto my neck as I whimpered in fear. _

_The last to appear resembled a Gronckle a bit. It had a large, stocky body with short legs, but bigger wigs and a long, muscular tail. Oh, and it was completely made out of ice. It's jaw was a a frozen mass of craggy structures resembling teeth, and on the top of its head were two small, beady blue eyes._

_The icy one opened its mouth and a stream of liquid nitrogen charged out, straight at my face. I had enough control of my new body to leap out of the way, my wings dragging behind me as I forgot to pick them up. _

_I bumped into the big, scary, glowy one and it hissed again, its long tail swinging down to pulverize me. I opened my mouths releasing a large plasma blast that sent the bigger dragon rocketing backwards into the wall. _

_The long snakes one came at me and I growled, trying to summon the plasma again. Unfortunately, I didn't have good control over that yet, and when it fired several cons__ecutive rings of fire, I was helpless to respond in kind. I roared again and fled the shot, slamming back into the wall._

_The icy one charged me before I knew what was happening. It swung its tail and hit me in the side so hard I dented the metal wall I was headed for. The area where it had touched felt... Cold. Really really cold. Jack Frost cold. Yow. _

_**"S-Stop,"** I tried to say, trying out my larger, forked tongue. The words didn't sound right, but I decided not to complain, and the other two noticeably hesitated. **"P-please. Help me! Help me please. I don't know what's going on!"**_

_The icy one ignored me and started to charge again. I desperately began to try and hack up more plasma, and something caught in my belly. I began frantically coughing, trying to get it up. _

_The icy dragon flapped it's wings as it defended on my, unleashing a terrifying roar as a flood of liquid plasma emerged from its jaws. I screamed and covered my face with a wing- _

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Present<span>_**

I woke up with a start, and shook my head. The place was... Unfamiliar. Well, it was kind of familiar, like a distant memory.

My head moved against the soft surface under it- a pillow, I realized. A very large one. A huge one in fact, to be bigger than my dragon head. I shifted, my legs sore from being under my weight for so long. A large blanket and sheets covered my body from the border of my jaw to the end of my tail. It was rather comfortable, actually. It was almost like my old bed, but it had to be many times bigger, as it accommodated a creature such as myself.

I opened my eyes slowly. It wasn't my room, that was occupied by Astrid now. But it was my favorite room in the house. An underground room made completely of stone,none walls lined with shelves. A large whiteboard was next to the huge wooden door, and the place was lit by dim LED lights in the ceiling. The bed was placed in a large depression in the ground so that the mattress was level with the floor, with niches next to the pillows to store small items.

There was a small stuffed dragon in one of the niches.

Gobber's doing. He knows I hated that thing when I was a child, so this was his way of teasing me and saying "welcome back" at the same time.

I eased myself up, the blankets falling as I did. My entire body ached, and every bone I possessed popped like firecrackers. It sounded like a series of cracker's being smashed as I moved. Man, I must have been out a while.

I stretched arching my back, clapping my spine, spreading my wings vertically, whipping my tail up and down as if trying to flick off the stiffness. I popped my neck, snapping my head from side to side as I did.

With a yawn, I transformed back to human, sighing as my scales receded to skin. I whipped my tail around and sat back on the bed, bouncing a bit, and twisted a bit. My throat was raw, and my eyes were crusted. I was still dressed in my coat, grey shirt and black fatigues.

I shrugged the bloodstained coat off my wings. It bore the stains of every battle I'd been in, from my time of obtaining it.

_"Here," Jack said, handing me the long black coat as I pulled on a shirt. Punzie smiled brightly behind me. _

_"Your gonna fit right in here, Henrik!" She said encouragingly, patting me on the back. I grinned a bit back, showing her my Night Fury teeth, and she giggled. Merida huffed against the wall, blowing a strand of curly red hair out of her face. _

_"Sheesh. Just because your dragon form is supposed to be quiet doesn't mean you can't talk, Mer," Jack teased, and she whipped her spiked tail at him, a spine flying at the arctic powered individual._

I shook my head, banishing the memory. It doesn't matter anymore. It really doesn't. And nether does that coat. Each bloodstain represented a battle that. I fought and won. A series of struggles that led to me and Astrid facing down the Red Death and winning.

And that series of struggles was over now. I gathered the garment in my arms, and walked to the door. There was a large hook beside it, and I looked at the thing one last time.

Alvin, Dagur, The Red Death, Clarisse, Elsa, New York, Finn, the Typhoomerang, Fergus, North, Hiro's robot. Heather. So much history. So much I have to make up for.

And I'll do it by protecting Astrid with my life, a job I'll apply myself to happily.

I hung the coat on the hook and dusted it off. This is the beginning of a new life. A new Night Fury. A new Hiccup and Astrid, because God knows she's gonna need some help recovering after what that fire did to her.

The door creaked open beside me and I jumped as a large red beard greeted my line of sight. I leapt back a bit, flapping my wings a bit and blowing air in his face, ruffling his facial hair a bit.

His eyes lit up in surprise, looking down at me with shock and I stumbled backwards a bit, my ears perking up in alertness. I crouched a bit, bringing my hands up to clasp them in front of me. I bit my lip in anticipation and looked up at him expectantly.

He coughed into his fist awkwardly, not saying anything, until-

"Um," he said, adjusting the jacket on his suit, looking at the ground. "C-can I come in?"

I looked at his feet, which were firmly planted within the threshold of the room. Yup, same old dad. "Well," I groaned. You already are so, yeah, I guess, I, erm, don't mind."

"Good," he breathed, pushing past me and grabbing me by a wing, hauling me with him. "I need to talk to you, son."I shivered a bit. "This... Isn't going to be anything like out last "Talk" is it? Because that was kinda bad."

He stiffened, not looking me in the eyes. "No, son. Nothing like that. I can promise you. Nothing like that. We will_ never _have another talk like that." There was an air of finality in his voice, as if he could command the future with his willpower.

Who knows, he's such a presence, maybe he can.

I gulped. "You promise?"

He nodded. "Definitely."

Immediately I relaxed. Good. That was a conversation I never wanted to have again. _Never_. Not in my life. Not again. That last 'talk' had been scary, and loud, and a bit violent.

I looked down at my prosthetic. The machine was in worse condition than I thought. Half the casing was rusted and there was a few wires sticking out. The ankle motor whirred pathetically and popped when I tried it move it, and little bursts of steam curled from within the inner workings.

I pressed the button to release the leg, but it only whined and spluttered, and weakly moved open, before locking around my stump again. I sighed and started to open it manually while my Dad talked.

"Son," he said. "I'll never be able to stop apologizing. What I did to you was wrong, and I didn't see you for a year after. Then, I find you in Astrid's room, looking like... This," he gestured in my general direction, throwing his huge hands at me before letting them fall lamely to his sides.

"You just gestured to _all _of me," I deadpanned, my ears folding backwards and my wings flopping. I tugged at the rim of my prosthetic, making it groan a bit as I bet the chassis a little.

He shook his head and sighed. "More to the dragon-y bits than anything. But yeah. Like this. It was such a shock, the changes that happened to you. Your so, so different. Not just your appearance. You used to just respond with some sarcastic or witty comment when you felt hurt, or run away whenever you were threatened. Now, now you look people in the eyes and argue when confronted, and stand and fight when under attack. You faced what was probably one of the biggest, most powerful individual living thing in all of existence. You fought it son. And you won."

"Well," I said, tugging at the prosthetic foot a bit in another attempt to free my stump. "Me and Astrid fought it. I think it would have snapped me up without her shooting her full of spikes and magnesium fire."

He shook his head. "You don't know that son."

"Yes I do." I said as I finally managed to tug the device open. It hissed as the casing slowly opened, revealing my shortened limb. It ended mid-calf, and was bright red from being trapped inside the damaged prosthetic. The flesh was raw and sore and stinging.

I rubbed the stump tenderly, trying to get feeling back in it.

"And there's that," Dad said, looking at me worried. "You lost a leg. I can't help but feel that's my fault."

"They would have come after me anyways," I said, waving my tail dismissively at him. He looked at the limb with a pained expression.

"But you might not have lost the leg."

"Maybe." I said. "But it really doesn't matter anymore. I got amputated, mutated... Manipulated, betrayed... But I'm here now. I have wings and a tail, long ears, an organ next to my stomach that let's me shoot deadly bolts of plasma, the ability to turn my fingernails into claws, make my teeth pointed, and to turn into a deadly black dragon. I can't ever go back to what I was before, the weak, scrawny by that let Snotlout push me around, the twins aggravate me... I just can't. So don't even try to find a way to change me back. I don't want to. My little ones wouldn't ether. I'm a dragon, through and through."

He studied me with his faded green eyes, looking like he was thinking. He looked me up and down, wing to wing, head to tailfins. I crossed my arms and looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

"Dad, what are you thinking?"

He looked down suddenly, and sniffed. I realized he was on the brink of tears, but under his beard he was smiling... Probably. The edges of his mustache were turned upwards, but it was still hard to tell.

"I'm thinkin' how lucky I am to have such a brave man as a son. Hiccup," he looked at me with steady eyes, looking right into mine and smiling. "I'm so prod of you son. All of you. Human and Night Fury." I looked at him wide eyed.

"Didn't think I would ever hear those words out of your mouth," I said incredulously and he chuckled, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, well that's my fault isn't it." I realized he was holding something in his other hand. I looked at it curiously and he noticed.

"Gobber made this while you were asleep. It's like the one that got fried when the Shockjaws attacked your workshop."

"How do you-"

"Your son and daughters told me everything," he interrupted.

I looked at him. Son and daughters? Did he mean Sharpshot, Veil and Nightmare? Why would he think that? I mean, that's how I felt about them, but...

"Or at least, that's what they called themselves. I assume their adopted, and you weren't irresponsible wherever you were."

Wow. I needed to thank them next time I saw them.

I gave him a deadpan glare. "Ok, one of us might get shot to put me out if my misery if you start doing that."

His eyes widened and he looked around awkwardly. "Yeah," he agreed. "Thanks for... Pre-warning me about that." He said hesitantly, and I grinned at him, and took what he offered me.

It was an improved leg, panted dark red, with a viking skull painted in white on the ankle joint. Proportionally, it was equal to my genuine limb, and was perfectly weighted for balance.

I looked at the present and a flood if warmth filled me. He had actually given me something I needed, not something he thought I did. And I'm not just talking about the leg. I mean his support, and his love. For the first time in my life, I felt like my dad actually loved me.

Speaking of love...

"I can't wait to show this to Astrid," I said, putting the leg down and grinning at him, putting my hands on my knees and leaning against the wall "Where is she anyway? She's all good, right? She... They... Erm, her leg..."

He looked at the ground and the newfound warmth in my gut turned arctic cold. I had known that was the likely outcome... But I had really hoped it wouldn't come to that. I didn't want to see her on the ground, frustrated and in tears. I didn't want to see her breaking down or feeling useless or incompetent. I didn't want to see her in that level of pain.

That's what I swore to keep her from a long time ago. And I had failed miserably.

"Oh no," I whispered. "Please, Dad, no. Tell me, they didn't do what I'm thinking they did. They didn't... They didn't take it off, did they?!"

He coughed into his beard, not willing to speak, and finding the cracks in the ground extremely fascinating.

"Dad, this was one of the hardest things of my life, learning in to walk with only one real leg. Even harder than functioning as a dragon. At least then I had everything I needed to move properly. Wings, tail, four legs. But with one leg and a metal thing, it was infinitely harder to walk. So Dad, please, tell me they didn't amputate her leg."

"There wasn't a lot of leg left to cut off. The fire destroyed most of it," he murmured, and I shook my head, horrified. "There was just bone and some leg left. There wasn't any saving that limb. And you... You had lost so much blood, you almost died, because they couldn't give you a blood transfusion. Dragon blood is in short supply since they all left the island, even your buddies that fought the monster."

I rolled my eyes.

"Should have figured they'd bolt. Cowards." But my words lacked any venom. I was already working out rehab plans for Astrid. The hardest bit would be keeping her down while her stump healed fully... And then...

"Dad, where is she?" I asked, reaching for the new leg. I placed my stump inside, and the device beeped and hissed as the chassis closed around the flesh, locking in place.

The pressure that had once been overwhelming was now familiar. Walking on it was almost like second nature to me... But I would never stop expecting there to be a foot and five toes to move when I woke up in the morning. I would never get used to only stretching one leg.

This was permanent damage.

Some that I would probably never get over.

But Astrid was the one who just lost hers, so I was gonna help her. She wouldn't go through it alone... Jack, Merida and Punzie had helped me, and even if she hated me for this... I was gonna help her walk again, no matter how much pain it caused ether of us.

I got up, breaking in the new machine and faced my dad. He still hadn't answered my question. I planted my metal leg on the ground firmly and looked him in eye.

"Dad, where's Astrid. I want to see her."

He rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe not now, son. You've been passed out two weeks, and she hasn't woken up ether."

I stumbled backwards in horror. No...

Sometimes it took a long time to wake up from a coma, and not everyone did. She could have taken some serious hits in my landings. Hits that might have cost her greatly, if not everything.

How long did I have to wait to see her eager blue eyes, to see her bit her lip in excitement and light up in anticipation, or the fire in her gaze when she got angry, or the loud, smug laugh that sounded when we burst through the clouds. How long did I have to wait for all of those things again, if I ever did?

This was too much. All of my struggles and blood spilled, countless sacrifices... For _nothing_?! No! I refused that! Divine forces couldn't despise me that much that they'd take it out on Astrid like this, would they?

No, no they wouldn't. I stopped believing that there would ever be any divine intervention. You could always hope, always prey, but I never beloved a God would sully their hands by manipulating this cruel, twisted, snake-tongued, foul-mouthed, dirty-minded, fat, lazy, disgusting world.

There was no one out there to blame for Astrid's loss other than me. I was the one who took her with me, I was the one who was to weak to resist Excellinor's mind control when Hookfang, Barf, Belch, Thornado, Meatlug and Stokehead could. I was the one who couldn't dodge her fire in time for her leg to escape unscathed, and I was the one who didn't do my job.

I take full and total responsibility for this. There's no one else. The remains of the personality of Toothless didn't seem to have a lot of protests, so I guess I agreed with myself on this bit of guilt. I couldn't be sorry about killing the Red Death, but I could beat myself up over how badly I screwed everything up.

My mouth felt dry, and I flapped my wings in agitation, my teeth becoming pointed and scales forming on my skin out of stress. Seriously, black scales are the worst acne ever.

"Leg loss...coma... God no. Please, please no. I can't... I can't loose her Dad!" I began freaking out, flapping my wings and flicking my tail as I paced, hands balled into my own hair and growling.

"Calm down Hiccup," he said. "She's not dying. She's gonna live, and she's gonna wake up. It just might take time. All the nerves were basically burned off simultaneously, but gradually. Her brain took a big shock when it was already under massive stress. It just needs time to recover, that's all." That was a relief on the point if she would recover, but she was still in the 3/4 limbs club.

"It's still my fault," I moaned. "If I hadn't taken her up there-"

"Then she would still have her leg? Or you might have died up there without her help, which would lead to you, me, Gobber, all of Berk, and yes, _Astrid_, dead. So don't waste time beating yourself up about it."

"Thank's Dad... But that's really... Not gonna stop me from feeling guilty, you know that right."

He chuckled bitterly and clapped me on the back. "Yeah, but I figured it was worth a shot. But still, a man can dream he can cheer someone up with a few words, or that he can take back the mistakes of the past."

I nodded and tapped my metal leg against the ground. "Please Dad..." I whispered, my voice barely audible. "I just want to see her."

I looked down at the floor, arms falling limply to my sides and a shiver going down my spine and tail, and through my wings. My breath was quest and steady, and the throbbing guilt and emptiness in my chest refused to go away. I couldn't ignore it or run from it this time. I was just going to have to live with the consequences of my actions.

I resisted the urge to wrap my tail around my legs.

Behind "Are ye sure you want to see her like this. I looked up at him, now just tired and defeated.

"Yes."

* * *

><p>This was the absolute worst thing ever.<p>

I looked at Astrid on the bed, an feeding tube stuck in her arms keeping her alive. She was cold and pale, her hair splayed out in a giant gilded curtain underneath her. Her frame had become thin and sickly, her thin blue shirt hanging on her like a sheet on a line, outlining every detail under it-not that I studied to hard.

I was more focused on the lower half, or, more specifically, the right leg.

Hers was different from mine. It ended near the knee, only a few inches below. It was a large and significant difference between her loss and mine that I couldn't just give her one of my legs with a right foot instead of a left.

I closed my eyes, tears stinging them horribly. I shook my head and wiped them away.

"H-how long was I out?" I asked my dad behind me. He was standing in the doorway, looking at me with concern. I could smell Gobber lurking outside the doorframe too.

"Two weeks, technically. You would wake up occasionally and ether roar nonsense or try to wreak havoc looking for something, then devour everything edible in sight and go back to bed like nothing had happened."

"Sometimes you would shoot things," Gobber interjected. "Like the guest room Snotlout once stayed in. You stomped right up to it and loaded the place with plasma blasts so throughly that there was hardly anything left."

Dad pushed him out by the face and shook his head. "What he said."

I swallowed a lump in my throat, and walked over to Astrid's bedside. "C-can I have a minuet alone? Please?"

They nodded, and there was the_ creeeak-click _of the door as it closed behind me, leaving me alone in the room with an unconscious dragon-halfling girl.

Feeling pretty stupid, I coughed into my fist, before messing up the back of my hair and rubbing my real leg with the fake one.

I shook my head and looked at the ground. "Hey... Astrid. Hi Astrid, hi Astrid, hi Astrid." i swallowed again, and bit my lip. Man, this was soooooo awkward.

"So," I said simply. "You lost your leg. I guess we match now, huh? Funny, right. You lost your right leg, I lost my right. I guess we have a sort of physical-symmetry bond now, eh?"

I folded my arms under my wings and began to pace back and forth, looking at the blue carpet under my foot and prosthetic.

"I guess that's my fault. I shouldn't have brought you with me, and I'll make sure you know that when you wake up."

I sighed, and shivered through my whole body. The room was so cold, how could they keep her like this. I moved to turn up the thermostat, and slumped as I manipulated the thing, turning the temperature up.

"I love you, Astrid. I love you so much. I love you just as much as Dad and Gobber, but I cannot say if it's more or less than them right now. If any of you got hurt or killed on my watch, I don't know how I could live with myself. I just don't. But I love you Astrid. I want you to know-you are loved. That will be a new feeling for you, I guess. You told me before, your parents died before they could see you. I can't imagine how you must feel on your birthday-I'm getting off track here."

I put my fingers to my temples and sighed. "The point is, your loved. So, so much. And I don't want you to ever feel like you aren't. I am the only one here who should feel unloved for the simple reason I don't deserve it. I feel like I am such a despicable person. I hate what I've become, and something tells me the nightmare's just begun. I gotta admit, I feel like a monster."

I sat on the foot of her bed and shook my head. "But your the one who makes me feel like offing myself isn't the answer. That I might deserve to live, at least just a little, ya know. Being with you takes the pain of remembering the Month Before the Guardian away."

I got up and walked for the door, prosthetic whirring as it moved, the little viking skull rotating as the ankle joint moved.

I didn't notice her mouth turn up in a slight smile as she slept, though, as I eased the door closed. And I didn't notice how the room filled with the smell of affection.

* * *

><p>I spent the next few days in the workshop, putting it back together, and building Astrid's new leg. The thing was going along quite well, and was going along without a hitch. I would spend half the day building her leg, and the other half by her bedside, hoping she would wake up.<p>

Occasionally Dad or Gobber would help with the leg or keep my company in my vigil over Astrid.

She stayed comatose day after day, unmoving. Lifeless. And I hated seeing that. But I wanted to be there when she woke up, so I stayed. I was always in dragon form, watching her motionless form with green tinged vision.

I would occasionally try and wake her up, nudging her with my nose or rumbling softly in her ear. Or I would roar. Roaring was good too. It was agitating, watching my best friend in a coma. Days passed and she didn't even twitch. The only sign she was even alive was the rise and fall of her breathing steadily and soundly.

A week after I woke up, it went like a normal day in my new routine. After I finished working on her new leg, I left the workshop as usual, and checked to see if anyone was around before going Night Fury.

With my newly enlarged wings, I launched myself into the air, the cool autumn breeze brushing my face as I made a vertical takeoff. I rose fifty feet up before leveling out, flapping my wings a bit to stabilize myself. I didn't have to worry about being seen-not that I really did before- but now, everyone knew about my existence, at least, as a dragon.

Nobody knew I was cognitive, or that I could turn half human. I was, to them, for all intents and purposes, a black horse with wings.

I liked it better that way. Like I said, no desire to rejoin society. I'm a freak if the human race, I wouldn't fit in no matter what I did. I'd never just fade into the crowd again. I'd always be singled out, always be in the spotlight. I didn't want that, at least, not in human form.

As a Night Fury, I was a member of a powerful species. Strong, unique, fearsome, deadly. As a human, I was an odd hybrid. Not quite one, definitely not the other. A thing that would be accepted nowhere.

At least as a dragon, I had a clear place in this world. And to be honest... I was still afraid of them. I doubted I would ever rejoin the world as Hiccup ever again, or just be Night Fury to the public for the rest of my life.

Anyways, I began to fly back to the house, my wings carrying me at a lazy speed. I yawned a bit. I had little hope Astrid would wake up today. The doctors predicted at least another week till she was up and about, so... Yeah.

But something did feel different about today, something felt... Cold. And I didn't mean the typical climate of Berk cold, I mean like... Sub-zero cold.

I quickened my pace to the house, giving my wings a few short pumps. I reached my destination within minuets. I began to dive towards the open window when I noticed something was wrong.

There was evidence of other things entering my homestead, or, more specifically, Astrid's room. Ice splattered around the window, paw marks burned into the surface of the wall, there were long scratches in the brick, like spikes had been dragged through them.

I folded my wings to dive faster, hoping nothing had happened.

When I landed inside, she was fine. But... She wasn't alone. There were three people in there with her. One was standing beside her bed, looking at her with a smirk. He had stark white hair and wore a uniform like I had worn when I appeared to Astrid, all those months ago. Blue trench coat, white shirt, grey vest, and white pants, and combat boots.

The other two were girls. One had a mass of curly red hair, and was standing beside the window. Her uniform was an emerald trench coat, brown shirt and pants, and a yellow vest.

The last girl had the same uniform on, but a yellow coat, pink vest and white shirt and pants. Her hair was a massive blond braid twisting in dozens of knots before ending below her waist over the coat. She was by the door, leaning against the frame with folded arms.

I landed firmly on my paws, plasma ready in my gut. I growled at the intruders, teeth unsheathed and wings half unfolded and raised, tail arched, spines split, and legs splayed in a menacing posture. A growl rose from my throat, loud and rumbling.

Any person with sense would be peeling their pants, but the intruders were not impressed by my display.

"Hey, Henrik," the one by the bed said, and laid his arm on the bed stand. Ice coated it, spreading over the wood in snowflake patterns.

**"Jack," **I nodded, growling. I snarled louder, but he only chuckled. I crouched low to the ground, getting ready to pounce if needed. I watched as he walked away from Astrid's sleeping form. **"I see you three are still going with the cute matching outfits thing,"** I sneered.

"It's a uniform," he said, though there was humor in his voice, as if he thought it was funny too.

I began to shuffle towards Astrid, still crouched low and ready to defend her if needed. I glanced at the one with the curly hair, but she just scowled at me like I was the scum of the Earth.

I narrowed my eyes right back and barked a quick sound of aggression her way, before looking at the blond one beside the door. She hummed and looked away from my stare, looking like I had kicked her poor old grandma in front of her. This bought an eye roll from me, and I looked back at Jack.

"So, I see life back here has been good to you. And. I can see why you like it. It's a nice view." He wasn't looking at the window when he said that, and I thumped my tail on the ground as if to say, _oi, watch it, she's mine!_

"Oh, they programmed you to be so possessive," he sighed, exasperated.

**"Na, it's just my nature. I'm free of programming,"** I growled.

"So you think. But you didn't even know you were under programming until it was brought to light, did you?"

**"No,"** I admitted, **"But I do feel the difference between then and now. My head doesn't feel like it's being squeezed."**

"Ah," he said. "But our new superior wants to see you."

I tilted my head, ear plates flopping. **"What new superior?"** Then I shook my head and regained my hostile face. **"You know what, it doesn't matter. Get out of here, Snowman. We may have been friends once, but not anymore! That goes for all of you. Leave, now!**"

"Three against one," the girl with the curly red hair said. "Do you really think that's fair?"

**"Well, you can certainly go get more dragons if your feeling insecure, dearie."**

She scowled at me again, and I chuckled under my breath, returning my attention to Jack. **"You can go on your own, or I can make you leave!"**

"Calm down, Salamander. We're not here to fight you. I just wanted give you a message." He put his hands up in surrender, before putting them behind his back and walking up to men from under his coat hem I could see a large ice-like tail swishing around his legs.

I growled and my ear plates shivered with the vibrations of the noise. My claws dug into the carpet as I clenched them to my paws. **"Leave. NOW."**

He nodded, and I padded over to Astrid's bedside. I heard the crackling sound of transformation behind me, and when I looked, they were gone. The only evidence that they had been here was a large coating of ice on the bed stand. I went human and scowled at the frosted wood.

"I'm sorry. All three of you." I muttered. "But there was nothing I could do."

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Astrid<span>_**

I felt like someone had soaked me in a pit of boiling oil. My skin stung, and my right leg ached horribly. There was a ringing in my ears that was so annoying, it refused to go away.

I groaned and shook my head. There was a tube attached to my right arm, and I wanted it off. I tugged it away and deftly let it fall away.

Moaning, I brought my hands to my face, wiping the sweat off my skin and the tears from my eyes. The scar along my torso was aching horribly, but it was no comparison to how my head felt. It was like someone was taking an army of jackhammers to my skull.

"Astrid?" I heard someone say, and I groaned, and I covered my ears with my hands.

"Go away!" I growled. "I feel like crap. Come back tomorrow. Mmmnnnn."

The person put a small hand on my shoulder, and I curled my fingers into a fist. "Go away, or I mutilate you!" I snarled at whoever was present.

I curled my arms and legs inward and grimaced. I clenched my eyes tighter and wriggled a bit. "Astrid, please, please open your eyes."

The voice was desperate and hopeful at the same time, and kinda nasally. There was only one person in the world with a voice like that.

My eyes popped open to fuzzy vision. "Hiccup?"

My pain and weariness vanished, and I pushed myself up on the bed. Arg, what was wrong with my leg?! It was aching like someone had parked an eighteen wheeler on it. I bit my lip and looked around.

Hiccup was beside the bed, looking at me with wide green eyes. They looked shocked at first, but the emerald orbs quickly grew ecstatic. "ASTRID!" He jumped up and down a little, his wings and tail shaking and ear flaps perking up like bunny ears.

He threw his arms around me, pulling me close to him. He was warm, like always, but I could smell better now, and I understood what he meant by smelling emotions. The bittersweet smell coming off him translated into both happiness and worry for me in my brain.

Awww, how sweet. He was worried about me. He shouldn't have though. I'm as tough as they come!

But, I realized. That wouldn't stop him from worrying. It's his self imposed duty to make sure. I'm all right.

I had been so scared he was gonna die in N,E.S.T, when we were ambushed. Then I had been terrified when he had sunk under the waves. It was like an ice pick had been plunged into my ribcage, the thought of never, ever seeing him again.

As he pulled away from me, I smiled softly at him, one end of my mouth curling up, and I looked into his eyes.

Then, without warning, I pulled up my fist and brought it to his shoulder with as much force as my weary and groggy state could muster.

The enhancements to my strength must have been stronger than I thought, because it had quite an effect on my Dragon Boy.

He flew backwards, tumbling head over tail, before slamming into the wall with audible force. He groaned in light pain and his head rolled.

"Oh, man Hiccup," I said, wincing and putting a hand to my mouth, the other one reaching out tentatively in his direction. I pulled the hand back and hissed in air through my teeth as he shook his head, the fluffy auburn hair going out in all directions as he did. "I'm so sorry buddy."

I flapped his wings and got up. "Enthusiasm... Somewhat lessened," he groaned. "But not much. Oh, man I'm so happy your awake Astrid!" He gave me another gap toothed grin, and my heart skipped a little beat as a rush of affection flooded my chest.

I blame my mid-addled state for what happened next, but right then, there was only one thing I wanted to do. That one thing blotted out all other goals, and I cursed the fact that my right leg wouldn't move so I could do it sooner.

"Though," Hiccup continued, pushing himself up and flicking his tail with a small bit of annoyance. He crossed his arms and approached me with a scowl on his face. The scowl was extremely fake, though, and a laugh was bubbling up underneath.

He bit his lip trying to suppress it, but there was a battle for a dominant emotion on his face. I smirked at him, and put one hand on my hip, sitting up and letting the blankets fall to my waist.

"W-what was that for?!" He asked, still trying to stop himself from laughing, and the urge in me just got stronger and stronger as his scowl became a small smile.

"That's for scaring me at N.E.S.T," I said. "And at the boat. And in the air. And all the other times before that."

As he got beside my bed, I punched him in the gut, and he stumbled back, gasping for air, then scowled at me. "And that?"

"That was for being stupid enough to take on a dragon bigger than three _Titanics_," I said, still smirking.

_Come on, Astrid, keep it together. Don't do it, don't! Do it! _I said with futile effort in my head.

His adorable little scowl was now grumpy and serious. "C-come on," he complained. "Is it always gonna be like this? You punching me around for doing stupid stuff? Because I'm gonna have a lot of bruises if so, and if that's the case, I didn't wait by your bed for _two weeks_ to-"

He was thankfully cut off from saying anything else as I seized the front of his shirt and pulled him forward. His metal leg whirred as I tugged him in my direction and he stumbled, wings already starting to flap to save himself from falling and tail tensed up, ready for a fight.

Every muscle in his body froze as I pressed my lips into his. His wings were half unfolded and his tail went ridged as a board, the fins splayed out to the fullest extent. His arms were splayed, and his foot and prosthetic were somewhere between falling and standing.

Continued to kiss him, sucking air in through my nose, waiting for him to respond, until it became clear that the poor kid's brain was going to take a while to process this.

Pulling away, I grinned giddily at him and pushed him a way with a hand to his chest. He stumbled backwards, blinking like mad.

"Wha-wha da-"

"That," I said with an _extremely_ smug smirk. "Is for everything else."

His mouth just dropped open and he looked at me like I had blown something up. His eyes were almost as big as his Night Fury eyes, and he made a confused little noise in the back of his throat. He clutched at the wall for support, but, finding none, he just fell on his butt and stared at me in complete and utter shock.

I gave him my biggest smile and stretched my arms above my head. "Come on," I said. "Let's go flying. I feel like I haven't gone through the clouds in a month. And also," at this point, my smile became flirtatious. "Loosen up. Otherwise I'll never get used to that."

"Y-you want to, k-k-k-kurgh, erm kiss again," he spluttered, and I could feel laughter bubbling up inside me.

"Only if you promise not to be a manikin in the future." I began to pull back the covers to get up so we could go flying, and all adorable shock and surprise was wiped from his face. His eyes became panicked dragon-y, with thinned pupils. His ears perked up and he stumbled forwards, hands outstretched.

But as my hand pulled the blankets the rest of the way, my gut dropped to my feet in horror. My insides became coated in ice, and my breath was ragged. I had to force it to come in little, uneven pants, and my arms shook with fear.

"M-m-m-m-my l-l-l-l-l-l-leg," I said. It was extremely shortened. Only a few inches remained below my knee, and the small stump was wrapped tightly in bandages, stemming what was probably a bleeding, half-healed wound, as there were red stains on the bottom.

My mouth opened and closed like a fish, and my brain shorted out as I continued. I'm-I'm an amputee. I'm an amputee. All those people you see on TV or read about, who lost their limbs- th-that's me now. I'm an amputee. I don't have a leg, I just have a stump. I just have a little stump almost a whole shin shorter than it should be.

"Astrid," I heard Hiccup say, and he grasped my hand. He squeezed it hard, and I felt a little better, but not much. I looked at him with a horrified expression, and he pulled me into another hug. This one was desperate and inviting.

I realized something. His leg was off now. He had flung it across it away, and the metal limb now rested against the wall foot up. His stump was clearly visible for me to see, and I glanced between out respective amputations.

"Astrid," he said, and I looked at him. "Listen to me. Your not alone on this. I'm not going to lie to you, it's gonna suck. Every second of it. There are gonna be times you feel worthless or like giving up. There are gonna be times to cry and times to be strong. But I'm gonna be there with you for ever damn second of it, you hear me? Every. Damn. Second. I'll work hard every day to make sure you walk again on a prosthetic. You hear me?"

I bit my lip and nodded. "Mmm-hmm."

"Good." He said and pulled from the hug, grasping my right hand with both of his. He climbed onto the bed across from me and sat on his knees.

My breathing slowly evened out, becoming a slow, steady tempo. I puffed out one breath, and looked at him a bit fearfully. He planted his hands on my shoulders, and I shook my head.

"H-how, um, why did it come off?"

"When the Red Death's fire came at us. Remember? You spun me like a frisbee, but the fire still hit your leg, remember? There wasn't a lot of it left to amputate. You got hit pretty bad. You have got to have a lot of pain tolerance not to have been screaming in agony when that happened."

I smiled bitterly. "Well, yeah, you know. I was kinda focused on steering your pathetic ass too much to focus on the pain." I have him a weak punch to the shoulder and he chuckled, rubbing it for my sake.

"You know I love you, right," I said suddenly, looking at the sheets. "You-you've done so much at for my sake-I-I love you. I just do."

Suddenly, he flinched. There was a shadow of grief on his face for half a second before he breathed in and out deeply through his nose. When he opened his eyes again, they were calm and focused.

"I love you too, Astrid." He said. I looked down at my stump and sighed. "This is gonna hurt, isn't it."

"In every sense of the word," he confirmed. "But your not alone."

I looked up at him. "Neither are you. I think we've been alone long enough. W-we're never gonna leave each other, are we?"

"Nope."

He grabbed my arm and tugged. "Come on," he said. "It's time for that flight you wanted."

He reached under the bed and brought something out. A prosthetic, perfectly sized for me and painted bright blue with yellow stripes on top of the shin and around the ankle joint. He offered it too me and I looked at him.

"New life Astrid. Your not going anywhere and neither am I. We're the only dragons left, everyone else just up and vanished. No dragons in the world except you and me, or at least, none that we know the location of. So what do you say? Together?"

I studied him. I'd been by myself for literally all my life. My mom flatlined as I came into the world, my dad died in a car crash on his way to the hospital. Every home I've been in has hated my guts or used or abused me. I found it very hard to trust.

But this dragon boy I loved so much, well, how could I not trust him? He could be very persuasive. There was a simple answer: I couldn't. There was no way I could ever mistrust Hiccup. He could shoot plasma at me, and I would just wait for an explanation why.

He was my dragon boy. I was his girl. That was the way things worked. The way things would always work.

I reached out and took the prosthetic, and placed it over my stump. The thing hissed and locked around my leg. When I looked up, I was greeted by a face of black scales and acidic green eyes. He was looking at me with dilated pupils, and a gummy grin on his reptilian face, one that I just couldn't help but return with my own bright smile.

He offered the bare patch of his back for me to clamber onto, and I pulled myself on. "Come on, Hiccup," I said, and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Let's go."

He bounded towards the window, jumping right out without hesitation.

_This, is Berk._

We fell downwards towards the ground. At six feet from the dirt, his wings snapped open, and we rose up, his paws skimming the grass. We started to go higher, and higher and higher, his wings carrying us through the air.

_Its cold, full of smog and dust, home to a criminal terrorist cult... Or at least it used to be. _

The people under us gasped as we flew through the streets, faster than a bullet. We passed pedestrians, tourists, the lot of them, all under us as the forty-eight foot wingspan carried our duo above them. He barrel rolled op through a particularly narrow street and I whooped in delight.

_Anything made here is tough, but unpredictable._

We dove under a bridge, the darkness consuming Hiccup's shadowy form for a while, till we emerged back into the light. He flapped his wings and we shit past a coffee shop. The man outside it nearly choked on his drink as Hiccup's wingtip graced the wall above him.

We shot into the air with reckless abandon, and he kicked away from a building with his paws, making another loud roar and shooting off a plasma blast. It turned into a ball of fire in the air, like a fire work. He did it again and again and again.

_And the people made here are even more so. _

I grabbed Hiccup's neck and pulled, so that we went into a loop-de-loop arc, gravity tugging at my body but I refused to let go of the creature closest to my heart.

_One of the only upsides here is the local protection. _

"WHOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO," I yelled, sitting straight up while he flew vertically, my head skimming the glass wall of a skyscraper. We passed the building that Stoick and Gobber worked in, and they watched us pass from a window. I nodded at them with a smile.

Gobber gave me a thumbs up, while Stoick just smirked incredulously and shook his head. Yes sir, what a weird world we live in.

_While other places have their police men, or their armies, we have some thing better. _

Hiccup made a beeline for the clouds. The masses of puffy white got closer by the second, and I swear, I had never felt so alive. There would be issues in the future, but whatever they were, Hiccup and I would face them. Together.

We busted through the clouds, and I yelled in ecstasy. I threw my fists to the side and roared my own cackling cry, and my magnesium flame erupted from my mouth in a gigantic happy flair. This was not the end of our story... But it was the end of this story, as Hiccup folded his wings and let gravity take effect.

We started to fall, right back into the clouds below.

_We have the Guardian Night Fury!_

…

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* * *

><p><strong><em><span>In the North<span>_**

The Stormcutter that had attacked Stoick flew towards the arctic tundra before her. It was getting harder and harder to stay aloft, the energy in her wings was leaving her, ebbed dry by the long flight.

Four thousand dragons flew behind her, each just as weary. Tidal class dragons carried those already too weak to fly by dragging them through the water.

The ice got closer...closer...closer...there!

She collapsed against the frozen surface in a heap of scales and wings. She huffed and puffed in air and slowly changed to human form, warming herself with her wings. Probably not smart, since she was clad only in a hospital gown and pants. Her large green eyes blinked and looked around at the unfamiliar landscape as the other dragons landed. The place was barren and snowy.

A perfect place for the new species to live.

**"Valka?"** Odysseus asked, stomping up behind her. She looked at the fuzzy dragon questioningly, and the Woolly Howl looked resigned. **"There's no going back for us, is there?"**

"No," the dragon lady said. "No there isn't. Not in our lifetime. I don't think we're ever going to rejoin the human world. You have the fear too, don't you?"

And Odysseus knew what she was talking about. All dragons shared a fear. A fear that they couldn't help, for they had been the rejects and outcasts of society, the unwanted, unloved and abused. How could they not have this fear?

**"Yes ma'am. I'm afraid of humans too."**

Fin


	16. SEQUEL IS UPON US!

**Just in case some of you missed it, the sequel to Guardian Night Fury is up! Due to recent change in inspiration, it is no longer called lonely guardian. It is Ghosts of the Night Fury!**

**-RNC**


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